Overwhelming
by stonecold
Summary: This is all about what happens when a gamer Jaune DOESN'T focus on Intelligence and Wisdom and more so on the other parts of being a gamer as well as just adding new things that I think will make it more interesting so I hope you enjoy Overwhelming.
1. Very Underwhelming

_**So I am doing this, if I'm honest I'm not sure if this will even make it to the site but if it does. Hey welcome to this story! I got tired of seeing all the stories where Gamer Jaune becomes a wizard, so this is a Gamer story about what happens when you don't focus on Wisdom and Intelligence and more on the other stats so hope you'll enjoy.**_

 _ **Post writing note: Okay I am sorry I do realize this is too rushed but I am currently unwilling to make it longer and more fleshed out so don't walk into this story expecting it to be the hottest thing out there cause it's not it just is what it is so here you go.**_

 _ **Post-post writing note: I got a beta reader and have now made this longer and more fleshed out, so we have a better beginning.**_

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

As I ducked under a swipe of a Beowolf, I pondered how I got into this near death situation.

 _'Well, I guess it happened about a week ago when I discovered my Semblance'_ I thought. It was pretty sudden, as in "a few seconds after my dad unlocked my Aura" sudden. The jerk didn't stop laughing from my jumpy reaction until I told him what the power said it would let me do.

Also, I do NOT scream like a girl!

Simply put, my semblance called itself "The Gamer", and it turned me and my life into an Action/Adventure/RPG game, which was pretty cool, but until ten minutes ago I wasn't really seeing the 'action' part!

Basically, after doing some small Quests in the form of chores and helping with errands, I foolishly decided to try to fight some Grimm. I'd gotten to level 3 from all the quests, since The Game seemed to love sprinkling EXP onto the most random crap. It had only seemed like natural progression that I move from labor to killing monsters like in other RPG games, especially since I was trying to become a Huntsman. It was supposed to be simple!

But _APPARENTLY~,_ someone put this game on MASTER DIFFICULTY! Without telling me! I didn't even get a say in it! Nor a vote, or anything! Totally unfair!

Because of my distraction over the unfairness of the game's difficulty, the Beowolf I was getting pummeled by was able to get a free shot off on me. It swiped its claws across my chest, cutting through my hoodie and my skin underneath, which put me in _excruciating_ pain, but I forced myself to to power through it.

 _'I can do this. I can do this! I CAN DO THI-'_

"JAUNE!" I heard someone call out, and not even a second later the Beowolf was split in half, my father standing right next to me looking extremely worried. I was about to breath a sigh of relief when dad turned on me with a look of fury and worry.

"Son... what where you thinking?! Coming out here all by yourself, to fight Grimm no less! Do you not understand that you could have died?! Do you know how devastated all of us would have been had you died?! Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" He berated me, and who could really blame him? I was an idiot trying to come out here all by myself when I was such a low level. I wasn't exactly like most video games, they had trained their skills before going out to fight monsters, and some had parties to watch their backs. Me? I hadn't even really learned basic swordplay.

I looked down, ashamed and unable to meet his eyes as I spoke, "I was just trying to get some levels, and well~... things got a little out of hand, and..." I trailed off as I discovered just how interesting the ground can be. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I found myself able to look up, meeting my dad's eyes. I saw a look of understanding, but worry was still present in them.

"Jaune, I know what it's like to discover your semblance and want to try it out and see what it can do, I really do. However, even if your body is like a game character's, that doesn't make you invincible, I mean, what is your health at?" He asked seriously, and I looked down in shame again. I hadn't even kept track of my most important stat. My silence was answer enough, "Exactly, you nearly died. Do you know how devastated your Mother, Sisters, and myself would be if you had died?" he asked in a low voice. I still couldn't meet his eyes, in fact I was even less able to as his words hit me harder than that Beowolf had. I could almost feel HP dropping from the pain the thought brought me, but he was right. I had only thought of myself and the levels when coming out here, not the possible consequences of not being prepared. My dad was right, and I decided to look at my status window.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: None  
** **Level: 3**

 **Health: 30/125  
** **Aura: 0/100  
** **Stamina: 11/75**

 **STATS**

 **Strength: 14  
**

 **Dexterity: 13**

 **Vitality: 11**

 **Intelligence: 10**

 **Wisdom: 10**

 **Luck: 10**

 **Stat Points: 15**

 **Age: 16  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'6"  
** **Weight: 145**

He was once again right, I had almost died and left my family in grief. I couldn't even think about it, but the truth was right in front of me. I looked over to my dad and said. "I'm sorry Dad. I was being selfish and I didn't think and I should ha-" I was cut off by him taking me into a hug.

"It's okay son. You survived, and as long as you learn from this experience and have gained things from it, it's not all doom and gloom." He comforted me, and to tell the truth he was right, I had gained things from it, "Just remember to be think about what you're doing more than just 'I need to play this level'." he added with a small laugh, and I laughed a little too.

I felt better already, probably from Gamer's Mind, and I swore to learn from this and be more prepared next time.

Not a moment after my internal promise, several notifications popped up.

 **Because you have learned from your mistakes and understood when one should listen to your elder, you have gained 2 Wisdom and 2 Intelligence.**

 **Because you have survived a near death encounter but by someone else helped you have gained 10 Vitality, minus 7 for not doing it on your own.**

 **Because you have surpassed your limits to overcome an adversary, you have gained 5 Strength and 3 Dexterity.**

 **Because you where fortunate enough to be saved right before you died, you have gained 4 Luck.**

 **You did not level up because you were saved and did not defeat the opponent on your own.**

No level up, but I still felt like a new person. I hugged my dad back, enjoying the comfort that he was giving, smiling as I did.

"Let's go home Dad, its been a long day and I just realized that I should train up my body some if I'm going to be a hero like in my games and in the storybooks." I paused, looking up at him, "Y'know, the heroes usually had masters they trained under, so... could you help me?" I asked, smiling at him hopefully.

He nodded with a wide grin, "I thought you'd never ask, son. Come on, let's get home." he we broke the hug, and he led the way as we both walked back to the house to get some food.

 _ **...(That Night)...**_

I sat in my bed, waiting for everyone to fall asleep. Once I was sure they were, I got out of my bed and quietly got onto the ground and started to do push ups. After all sleep is for the weak as they say. As I went I noticed that I got a skill for all this apparently.

 **Through a specific action you have earned a skill, the skill "Sneak" has been unlocked.**

Huh, I guess trying to work out sneakily earned me the skill. Neat! I guess I can take a look at it to see what it's all about.

 **Sneak (Passive & Active) LV 1 EXP: 30.65%**

 **The ability to remain hidden. Passively makes all movements 3% quieter. Actively makes all movements 10% quieter. All attacks made while actively sneaking and being undetected cause 2X the normal damage.**

 **Active Cost 25 AP a second.**

Wow that is really good, but man that active cost is a killer, I could only run it for about six seconds before I was out of AP, but I might as well just do it to grind it up.

So that is exactly what I did, I used the skill for as long as I could, then waited about thirty minutes before doing it again. Throughout that process, I kept working out.

I was determined to become so strong that no one could threaten my family or myself. I could still fondly remember the day I decided to become the strongest.

 _ **Flash Back Seven Years Ago.**_

 _My dad and I were walking in the woods near our house one day, just a casual stroll nothing too special. When suddenly, I had a thought that had never occurred to me before._

 _"Hey dad? How come you never wear armor or use a shield to protect you when you fight?" I asked him with a curious tone. His previously whimsical smile fractured and faded away, and he stared off to the distance for awhile, seeming to ponder upon it for a moment before he answered._

 _"To be honest son, it was just never my style. I always preferred unarmed combat, and all that heavy armor just slowed me down, it just never worked for me. So, one day, I decided that sometimes the best defense is overwhelming physical power. After all, if you can kill the thing that is threatening you before it can attack you, then you have no need to defend, do you?" He finished with a small smile, looking down at me, and I smiled back._

 _We resumed walking, and I began to think about it more. Overwhelming physical power, huh? Well, if that is the case, then I would become the most powerful of all!_

 _ **Flash Back End.**_

Thus, here I am, working out until about six in the morning, and I finally decided it was time to go to bed for a bit. After I stopped and got up to my feet, the soreness in my arms already fading away, a window appeared in front of me, telling me what I had earned from this little endeavor of mine.

 **Through extensive working out and dedication you have gained 6 Strength.**

 **Because you worked through the pain and the physical harm of your workout, you have gained 4 Vitality.**

 **Skills have leveled through your training.**

 **The skill Sneak has leveled up 9 times.**

 **The skill Aura has leveled up 4 times**

Cool! If I keep this up, I will be super strong in no time. I could easily become one of the most powerful Huntsman alive! I could probably surpass my dad, become even stronger and tougher than him, or anyone in the world! I thought it'd be really hard to do this, since getting stronger got harder the stronger you got, but it seemed like this would be really easy! Man, and I thought that Master Difficulty would come with a challenge!

Wait, what is this second box?

 **IMPORTANT NOTICE**

 **Now that you have a Stat that has reached 25 or higher, it will now become significantly more difficult to raise stats through training. However, because you had a stat reach 25 without using a stat point, you have been awarded 10 stat points.**

 **One of your stats has reached 25, you have been awarded equipment that is corresponding to that stat.**

 **A "Claymore" has been added to your inventory.**

... well crap!

"Well, I guess what they say is true: Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it." I whispered to myself before I decided to go to bed.

I knew that with the training my dad was probably able to put me through, it would be a looooong day.

* * *

 _ **Alright I know this is a short chapter and all that and i'm sorry but hey it happens I am also positive that I got a ton of grammatical things wrong but whatever it is what it is.**_

 _ **Stone out.**_

 _ **Player1 here, beta for this story, helping Stone out with his stuff. As mentioned in the first A/N, we're going to be going back through the first couple of chapters and fixing them up so it doesn't look like crap in the beginning and turn people off of the story.**_


	2. Like Father, Like Son

**So I am here to try writing another chapter, I have no idea how long it will take, hopefully not super long, but will see here we go.**

 **Oh, and by the way, thanks to that guy who pointed out a few things that I was doing wrong, I appreciate it. But, as I am sure you people have figured out, I freaking suck at English and grammar, and I'm sorry about that.**

 **If someone else was making this story, I would be SO happy, because I am pretty sure like almost everyone else on this site could do it better, but I am here making this story and trying my best. So, please tell me what I'm doing wrong, just don't be a jerk about it. Thanks!**

 **Also a huge shout out to ThePlayer1Company for helping me out some.**

 **Player1: Hey there. Coming back up to the first two chapters and helped my buddy Stone out here, since as you just read he kinda needs it. Been trying to spice the chapters up a little, helping out.**

* * *

 **You have slept in a bed. HP, SP, and AP have been fully restored!**

This was the first thing I saw as I woke up, the same message that has been greeting me every morning for about a week now. I guess I'll check out my stats and all that, now that things have changed.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: None  
** **Level: 3**

 **HP: 300/300  
** **AP: 120/120  
** **SP: 200/200**

 **STR: 25  
** **DEX: 16  
** **VIT: 18  
** **INT: 12  
** **WIS: 12  
** **LUK: 14**

 **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'7"  
** **Weight: 155**

Fascinatingly, I got taller and gained weight. I wondered if that was from my Strength gains increasing my muscle mass, or the Vitality gains making... my bones denser, I guess? But I guess it doesn't really matter how it happened, just that it happened and it was a good thing. I made my way to the bathroom, going about my normal morning routine, and after I was finished I made my way to the kitchen to find my mom cooking, a small smile crossing my face as I heard her soft singing.

"Good morning Mom." I greeted her with a smile as she turned over some bacon and turned to me.

Her smile grew twice as wide when she saw me, "Good morning Jaune, could you do me a favor and set the table for me?" she asked sweetly, and I nodded and began going about doing just that. After just a few minutes I was done, and I felt like I'd done it a bit faster than normal, which I guess was thanks to my DEX. I sat at the table, waiting for her to be done. Soon enough she was, and went upstairs to get dad out of bed.

Well, while I wait, I might as well check out my skills and see what all happened with that.

 **Skill List**

 **Gamer's Mind (Passive) LV MAX**

 **Gamer's Body(Passive) LV MAX**

 **Aura (Passive & Active) LV 6, EXP: 40.24%**

 **Observe (Passive & Active) LV 3, EXP: 23.47%**

 **Sneak (Passive & Active) LV 10, EXP: 66.59%**

Hmm, I wonder how if at all the skills have changed with the levels but still I wonder what MAX level is part of wants to think that it is just one hundred but i'm not sure. I guess I will take a look at the skills and see what is up.

 **Sneak (Passive & Active) LV 10, EXP: 66.59%  
** **The ability to remain hidden. Passively makes all movements 9% quieter. Actively Makes all movements 20% quieter. All attacks made while actively sneaking and being undetected cause 2.5X the normal damage.**

 **Active Cost: 20 AP per second  
**

 **/-/**

 **Aura (Passive & Active) LV 6, EXP: 40.24%**

 **The light that was hidden within all beings at the beginning, come through shining for all the world to see. Passively creates a shield around the being with an allocated amount of AP.**

 **ADDITIONAL ABILITIES UNLOCKED AS SKILL LEVEL INCREASES.**

 **Cost: Special**

So, even if I still didn't have any new abilities from Aura, which was kinda sad, I guess I'll just make do with a shield. Well, on the bright side, Dad should be down in just a second so I can start eating. I wondered how he'd be joining the world of the awake today.

As if on cue, a body came flying down the stairs, hitting the ground and sliding all the way to the table, stopping just a few inches away.

"You know, with how many times this has happened, I would think that you MIGHT have learned by now to get out of bed when she tells you to." I said to my father, who was currently face-down on the ground to my side, groaning and trying to stand up, but apparently still tired.

"Son, let me impart upon you special knowledge: the bed is a sacred place, a holy temple where one may embrace this beautiful thing called sleep, and it is hard for me to leave that hallowed place. However, my wife has learned a great and powerful secret art that allows her to remove me from my holy shrine. I tell you boy, it's the purest and blackest and evilest of all dark magics." He told me with a very serious, almost haunted voice as he pulled himself up off the ground. He swayed on his feet, nearly falling back over, and stretched his body out, arms coming up over his head and reaching towards the sky, "Dear almighty beautiful god of sleep, please give me the energy to face this day... or take my wife and give me like ten more pillows so I can go back to sleep."

I then heard footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs, and saw Mom walking down with a sweet smile on her face, "Oh good, you're already on your feet. I was worried I'd thrown you too hard for a moment there." she walked over, and quick as lightning her hand reached out and clamped down on dad's ear, making him let out a small shriek of surprise and pain, "By the way, I heard that, mister. Keep in mind that no sleep is worth what I've given you." she led him by the ear to his chair, then pointed to it, letting go of him, which he took as his signal to sit down.

He plopped down and sighed, "You know I was just joking, right?"

Still smiling, she walked up to him and leaned down, then... gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I know, but I'd rather you find a new brand of comedy, honey." she said before sitting down herself.

He sighed, pulling some food onto his plate, "Son, of all the advice I've given you as a father, keep this piece in mind as you grow older: Happy wife, happy life."

My mother smiled at me, "Son, of all the advice I've given you as a mother, I will say that this is one of the few times you should listen to your father's advice." she gave a little laugh as she pulled some food onto her plate.

The atmosphere lightened up with a bit of laughter, and we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the table. We talked about a few things here and there, and when we finally finished Dad pulled me aside and took me to the backyard.

"Huh? Dad, what's up?" I asked, a little confused about what we where doing.

He looked me in the eyes with his hands on my shoulders, "It's time I got serious about your training son, today we are gonna start sparring, so get ready." he said seriously, and took a few steps back as prepared myself mentally.

I decided to pull out my gift from raising my Strength. A simple Claymore appeared in my hands, and while it was pretty heavy, it wasn't so heavy for me that I couldn't wield it. I was about to get into a stance that my dad had taught me a few days ago, when he suddenly spoke up.

"Sorry Jaune, but no swords today. Although it IS good to know you have that, I want you to learn to make your body itself a weapon before you reach out and learn to use any weapons themselves." He told me, his arms crossed as he watched me, "A house needs a strong foundation before it can be built up properly."

I looked down, a little saddened by that, but I put the sword away regardless and squared my shoulders, nodding to him with my best game-face, "Alright then. I'm ready."

"Alright, we are going to start from square one. I want you to punch me as hard as you can." He informed me, and I looked at him a little oddly for a second before doing just that. I ran at him and, with all the force I could muster, hit him straight in the stomach.

It did not surprise me when he didn't even move an inch, nor when he looked completely unhurt. What _did_ surprise me was the sharp crack that I heard right after my punch connected, and then my hand exploded in pain. I withdrew my hand and cradled it against my chest, hissing in agony, but thankfully the pain passed after a few moments. My Father looked at me with slight concern as I checked to see what the damage was... literally.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: None  
** **Level: 3**

 **HP: 285/300  
** **AP: 120/120  
** **SP: 196/200**

I just couldn't help it I burst out laughing as I looked at that. My Dad just stared at me confused as I laughed. Eventually I composed myself as I looked at Dad and began to tell him what happened.

"As I am pretty sure you noticed, I broke my hand punching you, and I took fifteen damage from it." I said with a slight chuckle, looking down as I shook my head at my own weakness. _'I can't even punch something without hurting myself how sad is that?'_

But, as I looked up at my father again, I felt a new determination come over me, and I got in a stance once more, "Glad to see you're not giving up after one little broken hand." he said almost in taunting, a grin on his face.

I grinned back, "Well Dad, you know what they say, right? What doesn't kill you-" I began.

"-Only makes you stronger!" He finished with a brief, boisterous laugh, and as he spread his feet slightly, I ran at him once more ready to see where this training takes me.

Another explosion of pain told me that if I didn't have Gamer's Body, I'd quickly end up going straight to the hospital.

 ** _...About Four Hours Later..._**

I was laying splayed out on the ground, panting and exhausted, but it was worth it I guess.

 **Through enduring pain and the breaking of bones many times, you have earned 3 Vitality.**

 **Through extensive training and continued work, you have gained 1 Strength.**

 **Through extensive training and diligence to keep going until you could do it faster then ever before, you have earned 2 Dexterity.**

Worth it, even though I was still tired and on the ground, it was all worth it in the end, Dad walked over to me and held his hand out to help me up, and I took it thankfully.

We made our way back to the house, where mom was making lunch for us. When I got there, I sat down in my chair to do some reading. It was some Science Fiction that I was enjoying lately, about these two factions and their war for dominance over the stars and the whole galaxy, and as I was reading, something strange happened.

 **Due to studying some parts of theoretical Physics, you have gained 1 Intelligence!**

Huh, so I can even gain Intelligence from studying? Hmm, I guess what I will do for a while is study at night and train with Dad in the days. After all, a dumb fighter is a bad fighter, and technically speaking Intelligence should help me learn more when fighting.

 **For making a fairly well thought out training plan, you have gained 1 Wisdom!**

 _'Okay, now your just mocking me.'_ I thought as I glared at the blue box.

* * *

 **Well that was chapter two hope you enjoyed and another huge shout out to ThePlayer1Company for all his help as well as I am still looking for a Beta let me know if any one of you would like to help me with this story thanks and bye.**

 **Stone out.**

 **Player1: Good, he's gone, now I can say... thanks for reading! ^w^ and if you want to see something slightly similar to a scale on which this story might one day be (but with knight class instead of warrior class), check out my story "The D'arc Game of Life". It's got tons of words for you to read, but please finish reading this story before you read mine.**

 **Don't be da-Rude, or I'll send a sandstorm after you, XDDD**


	3. Call to Battle

**Hi! stonecold here.**

 **And so is ThePlayer1Company! I've officially decided to branch out and try my hand at beta-reading/story helping. I hope I did a good job cleaning and polishing this chapter up.**

 **So chapter three?**

 **Right now?**

 **Chapter 3 it is, then.**

* * *

 **Three Days Later.**

Well, I can say that quite a bit has happened these past few days. Some of these things were the acquisition of a few new skills and levels.

 **Unarmed Mastery LV: 5 EXP: 00.09%**  
 **One must master the body before they can master anything else. This skill represents your Mastery of your body. Increases damage done when not using a weapon by 15%. Increase attack speed by 10%.**

 **Craft LV: 4 EXP: 89.75%**  
 **The skill that allows you to make things... You can make things with this skill.**

 **The skill "Aura" has leveled up two times.**

Also there are the stat boosts that I got.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: none**  
 **Level: 4**

 **HP: 500/500**  
 **AP: 170/170**  
 **SP: 250/250**

 **Stats;**  
 **STR: 27**  
 **DEX: 20**  
 **VIT: 23**  
 **INT: 17**  
 **WIS: 15**  
 **LUK: 14**

 **Stat points: 30**

 **Race: Human**  
 **Height: 5'8"**  
 **Weight: 160**

So there my Dad and I were, walking through the woods together. Apparently, he wanted me to do some live training and took me out here to the woods. If I was to be honest, then I'd say we'd been walking for about an hour or so now, at a constant brisk pace. I was a bit surprised I didn't get a DEX point for keeping up like this for so long.

"Hey Dad, when are we going to get there?" I asked him, rather curious as to what was taking so long. Live training meant fightning Grimm, right? Surely it didn't take an hour to get to where the Grimm were, right? If so, I'd be screwed if I ever decided to come out here alone.

"Well son, we're not really going anywhere specific right now. Right now, we're just waiting for the Grimm that are following us to attack." He said calmly, and I nodded in acknowledgement before realizing what he said.

"Wait what?!" I shouted at him in surprise. I suddenly heard a bunch of growls all around us, and the ground shook a bit as two Beowolves came charging at us from the bushes.

They both lunged at my dad, apparently seeing him as the bigger threat. Well... they weren't wrong, but I could kill stuff too, man! So while they where attacking Dad and, as expected, doing a whole lot of nothing to him, I used Sneak to come up behind them and strike one with my fist.

The Grimm stumbled forward with a cracking sound. I internally cheered at the effect, but then its friend turned to me and swiped at me faster than I could dodge. A flash of pain shot through me as its claws sliced across my chest, taking nearly one third of my AP in a single hit.

I turned to the second Grimm with a quick jab to its snout, followed by a kick to its chest. I rolled to the side, avoiding the first Beowolf trying to take a bite out of me. Coming up again, I tried to swipe the first one legs out from under it, but it managed to dodge out of the way at the last second. Hitting only air, I was left me open for another attack from the second.

I recovered quickly enough, thanks to Gamer's Body helping out, and gave a double kick to the second Beowolf, making it stagger back. While it was recovering from my attack, I tackled the first one to the ground and started hitting it as fast and as hard as I could.

After the fifth hit, I myself was tackled off the Beowolf, which looked like it wanted to die at this point but got up regardless. My attention was brought back to the second one as it raked its claws against my Aura, shattering its protection in the process.

I ignored all of that, and ran toward the first one. I was trying to finish it off, knowing it was easier to fight one opponent than two. As I was charging at it, I swung my fist with all my might, and as my fist connected, the Beowolf blew apart into wisps of darkness.

I turned back to the second one, which was now alone. We stared at each other for a few moments. I was breathing heavily, but I glared at it and it glared back as we charged at one another.

Right before we clashed, I jumped at it with all my weight and Strength behind my attack! We clashed and I felt my wrist snap as the beast's flesh squished under it, but ignored it and swung my other fist as it swiped its claws at my chest. My fist connected with its bone mask and I felt something crack in my wrist as the bone flexed slightly. With both wrists broken, I made one last-ditch effort and kicked it in the chest. As my foot connected, I felt its chest give way around my foot as the whole Grimm quickly dispersed into smoke.

 **Your Level has increased by 1.**

 **Your Strength has increased by 1. Your Vitality has increased by 2. Your Dexterity has increased by 1. Your Luck has increased by 3.**

 **One Title has been earned, "Novice Grimm Slayer" has been added to your title list.**

 **The skill "Aura" has leveled up twice. The skill "Sneak" has leveled up by 1.**

 **The skill "Aura" has unlocked an ability.**

 **One of your Stats has reached 25. You have been awarded equipment that corresponds to that stat.**

 **One "Iron Breastplate" has been added to your inventory.**

"YES! I DID IT!" I exclaimed as I turned to my father, only to see him rip through another Beowolf with his bare hand. Only then did I notice that all around me were corpses of Grimm, all slowly dissipating. I counted quickly and found that during my little fight, my father had killed about twenty-five or so more Beowolves. All of a sudden, my accomplishment felt rather small.

'Well,' I thought, 'At least I got some cool stuff out of it.'

Finished with his much cooler battle, my father turned back towards to me, "Good job Jaune. You did well to take care of those two Beowolves!" he said rather cheerily as he walked up to me and patted me on the back.

"Yeah, I guess." I said a little glumly. Two versus twenty five? I wasn't a math wiz but that technically meant my father was more than twelve times better than me. It made sense, I guess, since he was a fully trained Huntsman, but it didn't reduce the sting to my pride.

"Ah Jaune, don't be upset. One day, if you work hard and do your best, you'll be stronger than even me!" Dad yelled out in forceful motivation, and I couldn't stop the smile that came to my face once I heard it. Maybe he was right. My wrists had already healed up thanks to Gamer's Body, so I knew I healed incredibly fast. If I hurt myself training, I'd be back on my feet in no time. I could recover from exercising really quickly too! As I thought more about it, I started making a few plans on how to better improve myself.

 **Making plans on how to best utilize your time has increased your INT and WIS by 1!**

That was cool too! I thought on it a little more. What did people in the movies do... huh?

My thoughts came to a halt when I noticed something weird, "What's that?" I asked no one in particular as I walked over to where the Beowolves that I killed had been. In their place, some items had mysteriously appeared. They weren't there before, or at least I hadn't noticed them before. I Observed them to see what they were.

One was a simple, worn-out looking book. The was black, with a white-outlined Beowolf on it and a scratched out title. Focusing on it, observation read.

 **Grimm skill book "Lunge", would you like to learn it?**

 **[YES] [NO]**

I hesitated for a moment. Skill books were super useful in games, but I wasn't exactly sure on how safe this might be, because of the whole 'Grimm' part. I decided that it was *just* a Beowolf skill, and my dad had told me that Beowolves were pretty low-tier Grimm, so it shouldn't be anything too serious. Plus, the skill didn't sound like it was going to kill me or eat my soul, so I hit yes.

 **You do not meet the requirements to learn this skill.**

THEN WHY GIVE ME THE OPTION!? But whatever, onto the next thing. This one was a dark, wispy, essence-like thing. I observed it and it gave me quite a bit of pause.

 **Lesser Grimm Essence (2x)**  
 **The essence of a lesser Grimm. Has very little power.**

 **Currently has no use.**

Honestly, opening my mind up to getting Grimm items let me consider it a bit more. I would have thrown it away, or left it here to disappear like abandoned loot usually did, if it wasn't for the word "Currently". Now, if video games have taught me anything, it's that the wording of descriptions is important. This WILL be useful later on, and hopefully not for any soul-eating crafting recipes. It would be a shame if those Beowolves literally came back to bite me in the butt.

Now, onto the last thing that was among the loot. I didn't need to use observe to tell me what this was, it was money! A decent little bit of it too, about fifty lien I would say. Observe confirmed it for me. Thank you, Observe.

"Now what on earth is all this?" My dad asked from beside me. What a great question that was too! I had a good guess already, and it had nothing to do with the blue floating window that just appeared.

 **Would you like to turn on "Auto Loot" so that it may pick up and store any items from enemies that you kill into your inventory?**

 **[YES] [NO]**

'I would love to, game' I thought as I hit the yes button and all the sudden all the items disappeared. I opened my inventory and sure enough, there they were.

"That, my dear father, was loot, one of the best parts of video games. And, from what I just learned, the game allows me to get skills from books! Skills from BOOKS! You and me are going to a book store right after we get home." I said with a grin, and turned to look up at him.

He nodded with a small smile, but then randomly looked like he just remembered something. "Oh, Jaune, I just remembered the second part of your training today! Have fun getting home!" Just like that, my father turned and practically vanished from his spot. All he left behind was a gust of wind and a new notification.

"What just..." I muttered confusedly, and trailed off before I fully realized what happened as I read through the new notification. Wow that thing was big.

 **IMPORTANT QUEST RECEIVED! Quest "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" was added to Quest Log.**

 **Quest: It's Dangerous to Go Alone!**

 **Description: After defeating a couple of Beowolves for the first part of today's training, your father has abandoned you in the forest. What a jerk! You're about an hour's brisk walk away, so better hurry! This is the first true test of your resolve as a Hunter.**

 **Objective: Return home in one piece.**

 **Rewards: 1000 EXP, +3 LUK, increased confidence, move forward with your dad's training.**

 **Side Objectives;**  
 **-A Good, Upstanding Young Man: ?. Rewards +2 DEX and +1 VIT**  
 **-Clawing your way back: Only use unarmed attacks during the trip. Rewards +3 Levels to Unarmed Mastery, +2 STR, and ?**  
 **-Cutting a path through: Only use sword attacks during the trip. Rewards +5 Levels to Sword Master, +2 DEX, and the skill book "Cleave Strike"**  
 **-Like the Wind: Return home in 30 minutes or less. Rewards +5 DEX**  
 **-Untouchable: Complete the quest without taking any damage. Rewards ?**  
 **-Unseen Warrior: Complete the quest without engaging in combat. Rewards ?**  
 **-Grandpa's Plight: (RANDOM CHANCE) ?, Rewards ?**  
 **-Worried Sick: Don't make it back home until morning. Rewards: title "Forest Walker", skill "Nightvision"**  
 **-CALL NINE-ONE-ONE NOW!: ?, Reward: +5 VIT, skill "Medical Aura", skill "Hardened Fist"**  
 **-Hello? Who's There?: ?, Reward: ?**

 **Penalty for Failure: Death, your father ceases to train you out of fear for your safety.**

 **Time Limit: 24 hours.**

Important Quest? I'd gotten quests before, but none labeled 'important'. If I failed... oh god. Failure meant either death or my dad might try to stop me from becoming a Huntsman! God that was a lot of side objectives, and some of them conflicted with one another, so I wouldn't be able to complete them all.

I realized how quickly I was able to read with my increased INT and WIS now, because after I voiced all of my thoughts in one breath, "WHAT!?" which I shouted at the top of my lungs, I heard boisterous laughing in the far distance, which was soon drowned out by howls.

Howls which I could tell were getting closer... I'd better start moving!

* * *

 **Hello everyone~! ThePlayer1Company back in the ending notes to remind you that this is my first time acting as a beta reader/story helper. The lucky young author known as stonecold happens to be my first and currently only client. I'm open to suggestions, but this was pretty tough, took me nearly all day! (granted, I was distracted by my usual stuff, but still)**

 **We both hope you enjoyed the chapter. This is officially stonecold's 25th time writing a chapter for a story, and my first time beta-reading for a story.**

 **Leave your thoughts and comments in a review, or shoot stonecold a pm if you feel like it.**

 **Hello as well! Stonecold here being thankful for ThePlayer1Company's help with this chapter he did a really good job made it flow better. But like he said hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did let me know!**

 **Thanks! See you in the next chapter!**


	4. Into the Woods we go!

**Stonecold: So I heard about this wild thing, it's called "Chapter Four" but i'm not to sure about it. I think it sounds shady.**

 **ThePlayer1Company: I think it sounds like a hard time editing because the site doesn't want to make this easy for me. Luckily I found a new way, so yaaay~.**

 **Stonecold: What? This site can be hard to work with I can't believe it.**

 **Chapter 4: We're just now naming the chapters. Deal with it.**

* * *

 **Stealth has leveled up by 1.**

 _'That... is actually very helpful.'_ I thought to myself as I hid in a tree. I mean, it was bound to happen, since I have been using it since I got the quest. Well... I'd been using it as much as I could at least.

 _'Well it's only a matter of time until they find me.'_ I thought, looking down at the three Beowolves, _'I may as well go for the surprise attack while I can, get the damage boost.'_

With that in mind I dropped from the tree and on to the back of one of the Beowolves with a double kick, hoping to maximize damage. It seemed to work as I landed on Beowolf number One and crushed its skull underneath my feet. _'Wait what? How did I kill it in one shot?'_ I thought in surprise.

 **A new skill was been unlocked through a special action. The skill "Critical Hit" has been unlocked.**

Well I guess that explains it, _'But now is not time to get distracted'_ I thought, and fell back to dodge the claws of Beowolf number two. I grabbed its arm, planted my boots in its chest, and threw it over my head and onto the ground a few feet away. I quickly stood up fully again and charged at the third one as it charged at me.

We met in a crash of bodies and striking limbs, both of us taking and dealing some damage. With his attack he managed to break my aura, I knew I should have saved more of it for a fight. At least I had a good bit of HP to fall back on.

I grabbed its arm, turned around with the arm over my shoulder, and snapped the bones. While I might not have been strong enough normally, the bits of INT I'd gotten were helping me think of ways to better use my strength.

The Beowolf howled in pain and fury, stepping back several feet in retreat as its arm dangled uselessly. Huh, I was a little surprised that had worked. It certainly did more damage than a regular punch, so I was definitely going to have to start using techniques, since they were more effective than just punching and kicking. I'd figured as much, but it was still good to know.

 **Realizing better ways to attack and growing to better understand unarmed fighting has increased your WIS by 2!**

Slightly distracted by the boost, I wasn't fully prepared when the second Beowolf jumped back into the fray and lunged at my throat. I almost instinctively raised my right arm in defense. I very quickly realized how bad of an idea it was as the Beowolf's teeth punctured my skin and muscles, tearing through my arm. I instinctively tried to pull away, but its strong jaws and sharp teeth held strong.

With a bit more forceful clench and a jerk of its neck, it ripped through the tendons and tore the lower half of my arm away, severing it completely from the elbow down. It took a step back and spit my forearm to the side. I watched in horror as my right arm, fingers still clenched into a fist, fell to the ground and I was left with only a stump.

My horror burnt away as the pain found its way to my brain and I screamed in agony. I fell to my knees and grasped my stump. After a few seconds the pain stopped and my mind cleared up. I looked around too see the two Beowolves left circling me.

 **Status received!**  
 **Dismembered [Low] has been inflicted upon you.**

Well I'm not gonna say that it can't get worse, because I am SURE that the second I do, it will, but I can say that this is pretty damn bad bad. _'Well when the going gets tough, the tough do a stat dump.'_ I quickly pulled up my stats window and put 22 points into Strength.

 **A stat has reached 50 points or higher a skill has been awarded.**

 **Incredible Strength (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 00.01% (achieved for raising Strength above 50)**  
 **An ability given to those blessed with tremendous power. The user possesses great physical strength, casually reaching beyond the limits of most men.**

 **50% Increase to Physical Attack Damage.**  
 **50% Increase to STR related skill effects.**

 _'This just might do it.'_ I thought, as I felt my muscles swell and my body grow with it. I filled out quite a bit, but I didn't any taller. Strange.

Noticing my distraction, they both charged at me but now with my enhanced Strength they weren't as much of a threat as they were before. I grinned with glee, _'Now, it's time for some payback.'_

I held my hand in front of me and caught the head of the first one in my palm. Using my new Strength and it's own momentum, I flipped it over my shoulder, but this time instead of just letting go of it, I threw it right into a tree, the impact making it burst into a black mist.

"And then there was one." I said to myself as I turned the last one. Once again my distraction cost me, and as soon as I turned around I saw claws coming at my throat. I leaned back and went to defend myself with my right arm, only to remember all to late that it was just a stump. It's claws missed my throat, but still dug furrows into my chest.

"Agch." I groaned out in choked shock, but the pain and the visible damage quickly faded as I drew back my hand and, with all the strength that I had, punched it right in the face. I heard a very satisfying crunch as my fist caved it's skull in. It blew apart into black mist a few moments later to indicate it's death.

 **You have gained 1 Level.**

 **Your Dexterity has been raised by 2. Vitality has been raised by 1.**

 **Unarmed Mastery has leveled up by 1!**

 **Items have been added to your inventory:  
** **3 Lesser Grimm Essence have been added.  
1 Grimm skill book has been added.  
75.00 Lien has been added.**

I smiled at the victory, but still felt lame about my arm. I wasn't keen on trying to make it through the rest of the forest with my fighting capabilities cut down by... well I didn't kick as much as I punched, but... ugh, math wasn't my strongest subject. I settled on 'one quarter down', which given that it took nearly all of my quarters to defeat two Beowolves, I wasn't confident that I'd make it through the forest with only three of them, even with my increased strength.

 _'Well I guess I need to get to somewhere safe to rest for the night.'_ I thought, deciding that sleeping on the ground was a bad idea. I walked through the trees for a little while, looking for one that would be sturdy enough to hold me.

After a few minutes of searching, I managed to find a thick oak tree with a branch that looked like it was more than thick enough to support my weight... the only problem was it was probably ten feet over my head.

How long would I be dismembered for? I checked my statuses

 **Status: Dismembered [Low]  
** **Description: Losing limbs to the dangers of the world. Thankfully, as The Gamer, you'll get them back. Current lost limbs: Lower Right Arm.  
** **Duration: 76 minutes (60 remaining).**

I could hear Beowolves near enough that I'd get found if I moved from my current position. I'd also be a sitting duck if I tried to wait for an hour so I could grow my arm back, so I had no choice but to climb. Gritting my teeth, I reached up and grabbed onto the tree, my strength, even in just one arm, being enough to pull myself up without too much effort. I took it one step at a time, wrapping my legs around the trunk, grabbing higher, shuffling my legs up, rinse and repeat.

 **Training your flexibility and climbing skills has increased your DEX by 2!**

After a couple more minutes, I reached the branch. I looked down, only to realize I was higher up than I first imagined, maybe twenty feet in the air. My aura was starting to come back, but it would take a while. I held my breath when a Beowolf came lumbering by underneath me, but it didn't seem to notice me and went on its way without disturbance.

Sighing, I leaned my back against the tree's trunk counted to thirty, letting the Beowolf and a few other random ones pass by. When the coast was clear, I pulled some rope out of my inventory and slowly worked it around the tree, managing to tie myself to the tree somewhat firmly so I would not fall out of it. I will leave everything else to the morning.

 **Working on your fine movement and hand-eye coordination has increased your DEX by 1!**

 **One of your stats has reached 25. You have been awarded equipment that corresponds to that stat.  
** **Two "Leather Traveling Boots" have been added to your inventory.**

 **You have increased your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality to 25 each! You have been awarded a special item that corresponds to the three.  
** **Two "Iron-Plated Leather Cestus" have been added to your inventory.**

Well great, I had two gloves but only one hand to wear them with. I reached out and equipped one, looking at it. The description hit the nail on the head, it was a thick leather gauntlet with iron plates on the backs of my hands and my knuckles.

The sun was starting to set, and I watched it for a minute before covering my eyes with my remaining arm and focusing on going to sleep.

* * *

 _(Morning Time)_

I was awoken by the rising sun attacking my eyes with its powerful beams. I lifted my arm once more to block them, only to open my eyes in shock as I realized that my right arm was back. I stared at it for a moment in brief shock as a notification popped up next to me.

 **You have slept in a tree 50% was restored to AP, SP, HP.**

 **Your body has been Restored by sleep, removing minor status afflictions.**

After getting over the shock of both the event and the revelation, I quickly untied myself and stored the rope back into my inventory, climbing down and equipping my other Cestus onto my restored hand. I flexed my fingers just to be sure they were there, hearing the slight clank of the metal plates. Satisfied that I wasn't crazy, I stretched the stiffness out of my body from spending the night in a tree, and began to walk.

I walked and walked and walked, trying to find my way back to the house for about an hour, the sun rising the rest of the way. I sighed as I realized I was lost, _'I seem to have gotten all turned around in the last few fights.'_

I checked the quest again, hoping for any hints, but getting none. I checked the bonus objectives and noticed the last one. With a confused expression, I reached over and knocked my fist against a nearby tree like it was a door, "Knock knock." I waited...

No response.

"That's a dumb objective." I shook my head and ignored what was probably just a joke task that some games liked to give. I went back to looking for the way home after pushing the stupid thoughts out of my head.

After another fifteen minutes of searching and retracing my steps, I came upon the clearing that my dad and I fought the Beowolves in yesterday evening. I examined the signs of battle and saw the human-sized patches of torn grass my father had left behind when he abandoned me, very literally, to the wolves.

"Finally, I can actually get back home now." I muttered to myself, but then paused, arms ready to start swinging while I waited for something to attack me just to make my life harder...

...

...

...

... No? Nothing? Okay then. I guess my life is just a video game, not an anime. Good to know.

Settling into the path, I followed the torn grass, only to find that after a hundred feet the patches grew lighter as my father must have picked up speed. For a big heavy man like he looked like, I knew he was pretty light on his feet. I sighed, but then realized that he had taken us on a very straight path yesterday, barring the right turn at the big boulder.

I kept walking, and eventually found the big boulder after another fifteen minutes. Figuring out which side was the one that faced my house, I finally figured out the path to get hom-

My train of thought was cut off by a window appearing in front of me.

 **You've spent an hour and a half searching through the woods. You seem lost, would you like to turn on the mini map?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

My eye began to twitch slightly when I realized what this meant. I stayed silent, saying nothing as I walked to the house, never closing the pop-up as I went.

A slightly larger Beowolf than the ones I'd seen thus far crossed my path. It sniffed around in confusion, and looked at me after a couple of seconds.

This time, however, I was on the other side of the 'attacking a distracted opponent' equation, and my left fist crashed into its face, sending it reeling back.

It was only then that I realized that my fist had literally gone _into_ its face, as in I'd shoved my fist down its throat.

Panicked, it quickly bit down and I shouted in pain as this time my left arm was severed by a stupid Beowolf's _stupid_ fangs.

 **Status received!  
** **Dismembered [Low] has been inflicted upon you.**

"I JUST got back up to two arms, you _jerk_!" I punched it in the throat with my right fist, then grabbed it by its arm and flipped it over my body, slamming it into the ground. I stepped forward and kicked it in the side of the head, then stomped on its chest twice, the third time causing it to die in a burst of black smoke. I smiled, then picked up my arm and removed the glove. I didn't want to lose that thing, it increased my punching damage!

 **Your Vitality increased by 1!**

 **Items have been added to your inventory:  
** **1 Lesser Grimm Essence have been added.  
30.00 Lien has been added.**

Deciding to just get a move on, I started jogging towards the house after getting my bearings again. After maybe five more minutes, I saw the backyard fence, and yet another Beowolf near it.

Okay, maybe I'd spoken too soon on the whole 'life didn't want to be hard on me just for the fun of it' thing.

I ran up and kicked the first Beowolf in the chest, sending it tumbling back against the wood. I bit back a curse when the wood creaked and splintered, caving in. I ducked under the second Beowolf's claws and got on top of the first one, doing a few quick stomps in what could be considered a dance of pain, a stomp to the throat killing it.

The second Beowolf, not realizing that the fence wasn't a door, made the hole in it a little bigger as it charged at me. I dodged to the side and it tumbled from its missed attack, getting back up to its feet and coming at me again.

I grimaced, then met it head on with a punch, sending it stumbling back. With a moment to breath, I looked around to make sure nobody was in range of the battle, and caught sight of the axe my dad used to chop firewood laying on its stump.

Getting an awesome idea, I dashed over and picked the axe up, then spin around and threw it at the Beowolf like a tomahawk.

*THWACK* the sturdy axe blade chopped through its mask and entered its head. It flailed around for a few seconds, one of its flailing arm swings snapping the axe handle off. A few seconds later, it fell to the ground and burst into black smoke.

Well... that wasn't good for the axe, but hey, loot!

 **A skill has been unlocked for doing a special move.**

 **"Dance of Death" Has been unlocked**

 **Items have been added to your inventory:  
** **2 Lesser Grimm Essence have been added.  
50.00 Lien has been added.**

Nothing cool, sadly, but that new skill was interesting I will need to check it out later. Sighing lightly, I turned to the house and opened the back door. I smiled when I heard my mom singing in the kitchen and smelled bacon cooking on the stove, and I began walking towards the wonderful sounds and smells. She noticed me the moment I stepped in and rushed to hug me.

"Oh honey! It's so good to see you back safe and sound! I was worried sick! You were out there all night! Are you okay?" she nearly wailed in motherly concern as she began fussing over my hair, thankfully not yet noticing my missing arm. I just hugged her with a smile, happy to see her. As we shared our little mother-son exchange, I noticed that another window pop-up.

 **Quest Complete!**

 **You completed the quest "It's Dangerous to Go Alone!"**

 **You completed the main objective!**

 **You were rewarded 1000 EXP!**

 **Your have gained 1 level!**

 **You gained +3 LUK!**

 **You gained increased confidence!**

 **You will be allowed to move forward with your dad's training.**

 **Bonus objectives:  
** **-A Good, Upstanding Young Man: FAILED  
** **-Clawing your way back: Only use unarmed attacks during the trip. Rewards: +3 Levels to Unarmed Mastery, +2 STR, and the book "The Tale of Sir Reginald"  
** **-Cutting a path through: FAILED  
** **-Like the Wind: FAILED  
** **-Untouchable: FAILED  
** **-Unseen Warrior: FAILED  
** **-Grandpa's Plight: FAILED  
** **-Worried Sick: Don't make it back home until morning. Rewards: title "Forest Walker", skill "Night vision"  
** **-CALL NINE-ONE-ONE NOW!: Return home while having suffered the "Dismembered (Low)" status effect. Rewards: +5 VIT, skill "Medical Aura", skill "Hardened Fist"  
** **-Hello? Who's There?: FAILED**

Well, those sweet skills, and a new title, and the free stat boosts were all really cool, but just the fact that I hadn't failed was a load of stress off my back. I still had one other notification that I needed to deal with.

"Is dad upstairs?" I asked my mother she nodded her head with a smile, turning and going back to her cooking. I was thankful she hadn't noticed my missing arm yet, but then again with my sleeve rolled down it was hard to tell.

 **Your Luck increased by 1!**

Well... that was probably a good sign that she truly hadn't noticed. As she resumed her singing, I made my way upstairs.

I walked down the hall and right into my parents' room. I saw my father laying in bed fast asleep. I stood by his side, staring unblinking as I looked between him and the window, in front of which was the final notification that I had left up.

 **You've spent an hour and a half searching through the woods.** **You seem lost, would you like to turn on the mini map?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

I just sighed heavily, then I dumped the rest of my stat points into strength. I reached down slowly... then quickly reached up and unlocked the window. Then I reached down quickly, grabbed my father by his head, pulled him up out of bed, and smashed his head against the [No] option, the blue box disappearing immediately as my throwing hand continued along its path and I threw him out of the window.

Thanks to my unlocking it, the frame opened from the pushing force instead of being held closed and letting the glass break. I watched for a few seconds as his body flew through the air and dropped like a rock from the third story of our house.

When I heard a loud thud of him hitting the ground, I turned around, walked downstairs, and sat at the table with a smile, "So~..." I began, "What's for breakfast, mom?" I rested my elbows on the table.

Mom turned to me, "Panca-wha-... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!"

Oh, crap, she finally noticed, "Um... Beowolf... it'll be fine."

She went wide-eyed, "I'M CALLING 911!" she lurched from her position and scrambled to get to the phone.

I blinked, then the realization struck, _'So THAT'S where the objective name came from... wait a second, crap!'_ I rushed over to my mom and grabbed the phone, hitting the disconnect button, "Mom don't worry! I'll be fine!"

She stared at me in disbelief, "Jaune, you're missing an arm!"

I held her arm in place, "It's just a status effect, it'll go away!"

"What kind of status effect does THIS?" she placed a hand on my half-missing left arm, clenching a handful of my loose hoodie sleeve.

I let go of her hand and placed my own on her shoulder in a gesture of calming, "It's called Dismemberment [Low]. It'll grow back in about an hour, mom, don't worry!"

She calmed down greatly after hearing it was only temporary, but was clearly still shaken up, "Does your father know about this?"

I shook my head, "No, all he knows right now is the taste of grass."

Right then, I heard the back door open, and into the kitchen came my father. He stood there, still wearing his deep blue pajamas, and looked at me, "Honey, please let go of Jaune, I think it's clear that he's ready for the next phase of his training." he grinned dangerously at me.

Even with Gamer's Mind in place, I could help but gulp in fear, "Mommy." I muttered.

My mother looked between my father and I, then sighed, "Mommy is busy making breakfast, Jauney." she looked at dad, "You two be safe now, alright? If he comes back in here and is missing his other arm, you're sleeping on the couch for a month, mister!" she waggled a spatula threateningly towards my dad.

He went wide-eyed, then quickly grabbed me and pulled me away, "Alright come on son let's go continue with training I think something nice and safe this morning should be fine." he chuckled falsely as we quickly made our way back outside, and I caught my mother's exasperated sigh right before we were out of earshot.

With a small shove, I found myself stumbling a few feet forwards, but thankfully not falling. I guess that was due to my higher DEX. I turned around to look at my dad, who was retreating back inside.

I stood there, confused for a few minutes, until he suddenly came back outside, this time dressed properly. He cleared his throat, then pointed at the fence and the discarded, broken axe, "Here's this morning's lesson... money. We need to replace that stuff." he tossed me something and my right hand snapped up to catch it. I looked at the object, only to see that it was a keyring, "You can learn skills just by doing what the skill is, right? Let's see you drive. Consider this your first lesson." his cloudy demeanor once more brightened back up into the cheerful goof I was familiar with.

"Dad, I can't drive."

"I'm teaching you now." he turned and started walking to the garage.

"I'm missing an arm!" I called out, following after him to continue yelling at him.

"That's not my fault, now is it?" he said with a dismissive shrug.

"It most definitely is! You left me alone in the woods!"

"You made it out just fine."

"I made it out with ONE ARM!"

"And it'll grow back. Your finger grew back the other day."

"My finger was crushed, not severed!" we entered the garage and I stopped him with a jab to the back with the keys, "Why can't you drive?"

He rolled his right shoulder, "My shoulder is sore because SOMEONE threw me out the window. Besides, you wanted to go to a bookstore to pick up skillbooks, right?"

I sighed in defeat. I DID want to do that, "Dang it dad, you suck, a LOT."

He led me to the driver's side door and opened it, "Well maybe some learning will change your mind."

I sighed again, getting in. My dad slid across the hood with a laugh and hopped in the passenger seat, "You're not a teenager, dad, you can't just do that."

He chuckled and pat me on the shoulder, "You ARE a teenager, son, now lighten up and get this thing started... and don't crash!"

I banged my head against the steering wheel, *HOOONK*

"... so you see the slot next to the wheel? That's called the ignition. You put the keys in ther-"

"I KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED!" I glared at him.

He smiled at me, "... so put the keys in and let's get going."

*HOOONK*

*HOOONK*

*HOOONK*

* * *

 **Player1Company: Well, I added a little bit at the end there, hehehe. Jaune is not amused, and is disarmed. I think we considered having him beat his dad with the severed arm, but that just didn't seem right. Oh well, hehehe, that's that for this chapter, folks!**

 **Stonecold: The severed arm thing would have been funny I just thought it was a little much unfortunately. I really wanted that to happen too. *sigh* But oh well until the next chapter**


	5. Merry Township

**Stonecold: Well I don't really have much to say this time around but I guess I will just get it started.**

 **Player1Company: Another day, another series of edits. Thankfully I'm here to help make the story a little better.**

* * *

You know, there are some things in this life that I never thought that I would do. One of those things was driving down the dirt road into town with one arm while the other slowly grew back. Another would be contemplating how to kill my father... well~, I guess that one is a lie, but the former still stands!

 **"Car Driving" has leveled up by 1!**

 **Practicing careful control of machinery has increased DEX by 1!**

 **Learning more about the world has increased INT by 1!**

At least that was a small bandage on my wounded mood, maybe a spritz of antiseptic. I noticed that the notifications seemed to have improved a little, about when I noticed my INT had reached 20. The skill notifications at least put the skill in quotations so it was easier to pick out their name in a hurry, and the stat notifications told me more about why they increased.

"So son, how do you feel you did in your training last night?" My Dad asked suddenly. I looked at him from the corner of my eye, resisting the urge to have my lips peel back into a slasher grin.

"Well I was fighting some Beowolves, and one of them managed to bite off my arm! So I, being desperate, dumped most of my stat points into Strength. I figured it would help me to, ohhh you know, LIVE!" I ended up shouting at him at the end, "Unlike SOMEONE." I glared a few daggers at him.

"Well, at least you got stronger right?" he asked me with a shrug. I just glared at him as best I could while driving.

"You know what, Dad? You're right, I got stronger! Hey, did you ever fix the passenger door?" I asked him, looking in the rear view mirror to make sure that there were no cars behind us. Unlikely, but the game might put a randomly spawned driver behind me for no reason.

"No, I never did. I was too lazy to get it fixed or fix it myself, so the lock's still... uh... 'poppy'. Why?" He asked me as I just continued driving.

"Okay, no reason really, but I was wondering just how much stronger I am now than I was." I told him while trying to figure out how far out we were, and deciding that we had to be about three minutes out.

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?" he asked looking over at me, "There aren't exactly any nearby combat arenas, and your mother might get mad if we stopped, got out, and had a 'two arms versus one' boxing match."

"Oh, you know, like this." I said as I took my hand off the wheel and started to steer with my knee, then punched my Dad with all the Strength that I had, adding to it by focusing and putting all of the aura I could into the punch to amplify it's strength.

The punch connected to his shoulder and threw him against the door. Of course, because it was broken, it opened right up and he flew right out of the car. I looked in the rear view mirror to see him rolling on the ground because of the momentum from the car.

I just smiled to myself as I continued driving down the road, finding a bit more joy in my life as I did.

About twenty seconds later, though, I saw my Dad jogging beside the car, which I was driving at _fifty miles an hour_ I might add. He just opened the car and hopped in with an upset look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but not before I cut him off.

"You do know that Mom and myself only do this crap to you because you can literally face-tank a charging Goliath right?" I deadpanned, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He just looked down, then back up at me, and finally he just sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, yeah I know." He just looked down sadly. The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable/depressed silence, the former emotion breaking every time I heard my dad let out a sigh.

Luckily, my arm grew back in the time it took to drive into town, so I didn't need to explain _that_. The small things that The Game does make a LOT of difference.

Soon enough, we came upon the bookstore and got out of the car. Together, we walked into the quaint shop. It was what you would expect from a Bookstore, several shelves around all packed to the brim with books.

I started walking around, observing all the books and getting quite a few levels in the skill. While I did that, I also picked up the ones that it had marked as skill books as I went. After a few minutes, I happened upon a certain area of the store with books that had all sorts of skills attached to them, many questionable skills, and all ones that I didn't need yet, or maybe ever would... unless I ever get a girlfrie-

I cut off that line of thought with a shake of my head, then quickly shuffled away from that section before being seen in it. I made my way towards the sales counter, setting down a small stack of books when I got there. After waiting for about fifteen seconds, I rang the bell to get the store owner's attention. He appeared around the corner and made his way over with a smile.

"Jaune, Solaire, it's so good to see you! How long has it been, three years? My, the last time I saw you Jaune, you barely came up to my knee!" He exclaimed with a gesture to his knee as he began ringing up my books.

"Ted, it's been far too long! What have you been up too? Staying busy I hope?" My dad asked him, leaning over the counter to hug Ted briefly.

"Well, as busy as I _can_ be with a Bookstore. My brothers help me out as much as they can." Ted answered as he finished up with my books and I paid him. I took a good look at Ted and noticed he looked a good bit older than when I last saw him. The top of his head was bald with some of his grey hair sticking out from the back of his head, and he wore a green polo and a brown apron over it.

It seemed that he had fallen upon some tough times. I decided to pull out all the money that I had and gave it to Ted to pay for the books. "Keep the change." I told him as I picked up my books and made my way to the door with my Dad following after.

"See ya later Ted, have a good one! Tell your brothers that I said hey." My Dad called out cheerfully, waving at the old man as he went.

"I will, and you have a good day too! Oh, and thank you very much!" He shouted after us as we walked out of the store and went back to the car. I started it up and we were soon making our way back towards home.

"That was a very nice thing you did, Jaune. I am very proud of you." He said smiling at me proudly. I smiled back at him.

"Well it was the least that I could do. I mean, the value of what I bought was well over what I paid for." I said glancing at the bag full of books sitting in my dad's lap.

"Well what did you buy?" he asked also looking down at the bag that only had five books within it.

"This, that, a few ways to blow up the planet, you know, normal teenage stuff." I said with a joking smirk and humor thick in my voice. My dad just looked at me with a smile that then shifted to a frown.

"Now young man, if you ever go on a city destroying rampage, you HAVE to invite me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Do you understand?" He asked me in a very stern tone and an even more serious gaze.

I stared back at him, slowing the car down a bit, and said, "Don't worry Dad, you are the second person that I would call. I would call Flowey first, she has always wanted to watch the world burn." trying so hard not to laugh as I said it to him. He just nodded his head in understanding.

We sat there in silence for about thirty seconds before bursting out into laughter. I had to wipe away a tear so that I could see the road, still chuckling to myself.

 **Flexing your wit and creativity, even in humor, has increased WIS by 1!**

I looked at the notification, then closed it a few seconds later. I blinked as my mind cleared and I looked at the books, feeling realization spark within my and burn from my core up to my throat.

About five seconds later, I decided that we'd made it far enough away from the city already. I slowed down to nearly a crawl, then turned off the road and drove between two wide-apart trees, rolling maybe twenty feet past the treeline. My dad looked very confused as I got out of the car.

I walked over to his side, pulled the door open, and yanked him out of the car all GTA style, "Come on, dad. We need to get more money to pay for that other stuff I just remembered that we nearly forgot!"

He blinked, then went wide-eyed and jumped to his feet, hopping on top of the car and peering out through the forest, "Hmmmm... there! Beowolves, twelve o' clock. Thanks for remembering that, son. It'd have been pretty inconvenient for us later."

I nodded, then followed my dad as he led me towards the group of Beowolves.

They'd hardly noticed before my dad had practically flashed over to two of them like lightning, grabbed them by their throats, and slammed them into the ground hard enough to elicit cracking sounds. Meanwhile, I grabbed one by the arm, then yanked it off-balance and into my kicking foot, sending it stumbling into another Beowolf that had just begun charging at me. I quickly ran over to them and slammed my foot into one of their ribcages three or four times, finally causing my foot to sink through the flesh as it burst into a puff of smoke. My vision was obscured, which nearly made me panic, but my aura flared up a little, and suddenly I felt I should duck.

A notification popped up, but I ignored it, instead focusing on how a couple of hairs may or may not have been clipped by the Beowolf's claws as they sailed over my head. I lunged forward, grabbing it under its arms and bending over backwards, suplexing the thing and falling to the ground with it. I rolled as the skill informed me that being in that exact spot for more than a couple seconds longer was not going to be very good for my health.

I came face-to-face with the notification as I evaded the third Beowolf that clipped its brother in the missed attack.

 **Your Aura has been augmented by your instincts to survive! The skill "Sense Danger" has been created!**

Huh, that sounded REALLY useful. I rolled away again, then pushed myself up to my feet as quickly as I could, looking at the Beowolves. My dad had downed three of them, I'd killed one, and the two in front of me were looking to kill me.

I blocked the claw swipe of the first one, feeling my arm bones creaking, then lashed out with my foot at the second one, sending it stumbling back again. I grabbed the one in front of me by the neck and swung it over my head, slamming it into the ground and punching it in the face a couple of times. It burst into smoke and made me stumble, and I was barely able to avoid a heavier attack as my aura was broken by the wounded Beowolf's attack, cutting a deep gash in my shoulder that I already felt closing. I rolled away and faced the beast, then charged at it with all my might.

The Beowolf charged at me in kind, but I used my strength to push that last little bit I needed to match its speed and reflexes, which allowed me to tackle it to the ground and punch it in the stomach. I got up, reared up my foot, and stomped, only for its huge mouth to swallow my foot whole, "Oh no! Not again!" I crouched down and, with the cover of my cestus, held its jaws open, ripping the bottom one off before punching it in the neck and grinding my foot into its throat, causing it to burst in a puff of smoke.

I looked over at my dad, who was using a stick he'd covered in his yellow-colored Aura to hold down the other trio of Beowolves, all severely weakened. He chuckled, "Well, you're definitely getting better with experience, son. More so than most, at least. Finish these things off, will you? It's almost sad watching them struggle, like flipped turtles... plus it seems like they only turn into loot when YOU kill them."

I sighed, then proceeded to march across the beasts' chest, planting stomp after stomp and killing them quickly, "You happy now?" I asked, sighing with a facepalm.

My dad just grinned and tossed the stick away, "Very. So, how's that loot looking?"

I waited for a few more seconds, then saw the notification pop up.

 **"Dance of Death" has leveled up by 1!**

 **Pushing yourself to fight faster and more flexibly has increased DEX by 1! Bolstering your decisiveness in combat has increased INT by 1! Gaining power to help you understand the world has increased WIS by 1!**

 **Items have been added to your inventory:  
6 Lesser Grimm Essence  
180.00 Lien  
"Gruhnt Dagger V1"**

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "That's weird..." I pulled the dagger out of my inventory. It had a pretty simple design, an off-white blade with a couple of red dots on the sides, a serrated back edge, and a black leather-wrapped handle. It honestly looked like someone had forged the Beowolf's jaw into a dagger, then wrapped the tang with its hide.

I read the description, and yeah, it was pretty much _exactly that_. I held it up, "So, I got THIS from one of those Beowolves. It's a dagger made from their jaw, apparently. Decent damage, I guess, but I punch harder than this thing probably hits for. Then again, it IS a knife, and knives are useful."

"That they are, son, that they are. I once had to use a knife to cut a tree off of a friend. They lived, and I only had to put some ointment on my terribly sore arm. Anyways, I guess your game power gives you weapons as well, which is cool. Come on, we need to get a new axe handle and some boards for the fence."

The drive back to town was as uneventful as it could be, as was a trip to the hardware store. At the very least I'd been able to observe some new stuff, but other than that I probably could have slept through the entire thing.

Getting back in the car, I started to drive us back home. I was so bored that I started thinking about life. It was pretty lame before, but once I'd gotten The Game, my goals had started to get on track. Beacon started in a bit over a year from now, which was plenty of time to get strong like my dad was. I just had to train, train, and train some more. I remembered reading a pretty good inspirational saying, _'The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle'_.

Well, I'd already sweated buckets, so I guess I had a pretty good start.

Soon enough, we'd arrived home and parked in the garage. I could smell cooked breakfast from the kitchen, which reminded me that hunger was a horrible disease I was currently infected with, and the symptoms got worse when I smelled my mother's delicious cooking.

I helped my dad bring all the stuff to the backyard, then came inside and cleaned up, eating my mom's delicious breakfast. I heard her sigh in relief and traced her gaze down to my arms, "Mom, I'm not gonna lose an arm every time I go out and train. I learned my lesson after the second time." I sighed, "It grew back the first time, grew back the second time, and hopefully won't have to grow back a third time. I actually got a skill that I think will help me keep my arms attached." well, Hardened Fist only mentioned my fists, but my fists were part of my arms, so it should help, right?

"You'd better improve that skill, then, young man. I swear, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that empty stump." she put a hand to her chest, "At least you were mostly safe, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, mom. My Unarmed Mastery skill is level 9 now, I should be fine if dad tries to pull any moves like that again." I glared at him, and he grinned sheepishly, adding a nervous chuckle when my mother's fiery gaze attempted to burn holes in his face.

"You said he agreed to it." she stated with a tone that had more edge than a razor blade.

"I said that he agreed to go out into the woods to find grimm and train. I... may have forgotten to mention beforehand that he had to find his way back on his own." he rubbed the back of his head and couldn't meet my mom's glare.

"Couch for a month for YOU, Mister!" she angrily announced, chewing menacingly on a breakfast sausage.

"Sheesh, mom, lighten up a little. Even _I_ wasn't that mad." I cringed back when she looked at me.

"Just because you can guarantee to yourself that you'll be alright, doesn't mean that it guarantees to ME that you'll be alright, son. I worry about you, just as any mother should." she put a hand to her chest.

I looked at her apologetically, "I'm sorry for worrying you, mom. Really, I am. I can't stop training, though, or I'll get hurt even more when I get to combat school." I reasoned, giving her a small smile, "Plus, you and dad know that I can do this cool stuff, the people at Beacon don't. They'll probably panic more when they see me treating a missing arm like it's just a flesh wound." I chuckled softly.

My mother flicked my nose, "I own sole proprietorship of the position of 'worrying the most about you', young man." she sighed a couple of seconds later, her anger deflating, "But I won't deny that you have a point." she looked at me seriously, "But please, Jaune, just... don't take unnecessary risks, okay? Your father was lucky, and you might _not_ be so lucky."

"I have a Luck stat I can just increase." I reasoned, unable to help a small smile. My mother had been nervous about all of the stuff my dad and I were doing, but I felt like I was finally able to help her get over some of that now.

"Don't be a smartypants, mister." she flicked my nose again, "Eat your eggs and don't worry me for the rest of the week, or I'll... I'll make you regret it!"

I smiled, "Don't worry, mom, I won't."

"Good, now let's all finish this meal I slaved over a hot stove to make." she said with finality, turning back to her plate and resuming her eating.

My dad opened his mouth, but closed it, deciding against some goofy or dumb remark, and just dug back into his food.

It wasn't long before I was finished, and after taking my plate to the sink and washing it off, I went up to my room with the bag of books from earlier swinging back and forth in my grasp.

I dumped the books on my bed and arranged them all in a nice, neat little row. I picked up the first book, which gave a skill for doing housework. I kinda only picked it up for the laughs, but I thought it might be helpful in doing my chores.

Who knows, though? Maybe one of those sub-skills it gave would end up super powerful later on? It might even be the skill that lets me kill whatever the final boss of the game might be!

I laughed to myself at the absurdity of it, imagining scrubbing a Brillo pad through some kind of epic Grimm Satan's face, reducing it to a mountain of bloodied soap suds.

I kept on laughing, but went dead silent when I saw a notification pop up.

 **By possibly predicting the future, your Luck has increased by 3!**

I just stared at the blue window for a long minute or two, then just silently turned to my bed, swiped the books into my inventory, and climbed onto the mattress, not even bothering to take off my shoes or belt.

 _'I'm too tired to deal with this crap.'_

* * *

 **Stonecold: Well after writing this I realized that it has all kinds of references in it. I wonder if people will notice them?**

 **Player1Company: I dunno, hopefully they will. I added one or two of my own, as well. Jaune better get to reading, though, and hope he doesn't disappoint his mom again. Almost considered adding that as a quest, but it seemed kinda... unfitting.**


	6. Dusk of a Gamer day

**Stone: Alright not much to say once again, except that if any of you are artists that can do a cover image for this story could you get in touch with me I would also be willing to pay for it. (Note: I am only going to do this if I can see stuff you have made before to make sure it is the kind of style that I would want.)**

 **Player1: Yep, and also, don't run away after the ending of this chapter, read the ending A/N! Do it! Come on~! Auuaugh! *takes pills to calm my Schwarzenegger mania***

* * *

As I drifted off to sleep, something felt... different... it felt _wrong_.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but that might have been exhaustion robbing me of the strength to lift my arm. The one thing that I _could_ tell, however, was that this feeling was dangerous.

...

 _I came to all of a sudden, lying face-down in a puddle in the middle of the street. I lifted my head, my body too weak to get up beyond being on my hands and knees. I was in a town of some sorts, a town that was under attack, seeing as how the buildings were on fire and destruction was everywhere. I could see bodies littering the ground around me, but I couldn't make out there faces, they were all blurry and unrecognizable._

 _Something stung my core about the body lying next to me, the puddle of its blood being what my face was lying in moments ago... was it moments ago? My head hurts, my whole body hurts, my heart is pounding in my chest as I stared at the familiar blue sweater._

 _I think I could described the feeling I was feeling as... glitched, like part of my brain refused to process the information, while another part was screaming at it. I tore my eyes away from the corpse and looked around the town again._

 _I could see black shapes coming from the destroyed buildings, coming towards me as if to consume me... no... that's exactly what they intended to do! I couldn't let them take me, I couldn't! I didn't want to go quietly into the night._

 _I tried to stand, I tried to fight, to run, to do ANYTHING! I didn't want to lay here and die!_

 _I actually managed to fight through the oppressive weight bearing down on me from all sides, but just long enough to give me hope before it was crushed under what felt like gravity jacked up to ten thousand percent! I only managed to push myself up enough to be sitting on my knees, staring at the darkness that now surrounded me on all sides, using all my strength to not hang my head in defeat. I needed to do something!_

 _Come on body, move! Do something!_

 _But nothing happened..._

 _The blue window was stained with blood, its words read aloud into my head in a flat, lifeless voice. I was forced to realize that my body couldn't move, no matter how hard I tried. I had to do something, though, I had to!_

 _I tried to call out to someone, anyone, to save me._

 _But Nobody Came_

 _One of the dark shapes came closer. It was the biggest one I could see, lumbering towards me slowly, as if to torture me with the wait. Even with it so far away, I could still see how it towered over me like a colossal statue of pure darkness. It did not even seem to be worried about me or what I could do, and who could blame it? I couldn't fight, I couldn't even move!_ _I couldn't do anything but sit here and die! All I could manage was to glare up at the beast that was slowly making it's way toward me, hoping I suddenly shot lasers out of my eyes, or something, ANYTHING that could stop this from happening._

 _Seeing it unfazed, I grew desperate. I tried to call out again, hoping, praying that someone would be able to save me. I called out again and again, each time getting the same bloodstained message that almost mocked me with how dead its voice was._

 _But Nobody Came_

 _But Nobody Came_

 _..._ _But Nobody Came_

 _...But Nobody Came..._

 _...But...Nobody...Came..._

 _The dark behemoth stood right in front of me now, and I had even fewer places than nowhere to go. I couldn't run, I couldn't fight, I just stared up at it._

 _No lasers came from my eyes, only tears of despair as I gazed up at this colossal behemoth of shadows, its very presence seeming to blot out the sky._

 _It raised its arm, up up and up, so high I swear it grazed the clouds, and I called out one last time._

 _...But...Nobody...Came..._

 _Undeterred by my tears or my screams, it brought its fist down on my head._

 _Killing me instantly..._

 _And Nobody Cared..._

...

I woke with a start, jolting up and hitting the cold, hard floor, gasping for breath as I looked around, frantically trying to figure out where I was. After just a moment, my vision cleared, and a few seconds later so did my panic as I realized I was still in my room, and it was early in the morning.

 **You had a horrible nightmare. Status not recovered, -50% to all stats for five hours.**

I looked at the notification, unsettled by its presence. This could just happen at any time? Why now? Why did it come now of all places, when I was peacefully in bed? Why didn't it come when I was sleeping in a tree in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest?

I sighed heavily, rubbing my face. The real question was 'Does this mean anything?' and I wasn't sure at all. That uncertainty, where the line between what I'd seen from my game, and what I'd seen from pop culture examples, became completely fuzzy, is probably what scared me the most. I didn't know if it was just what it was, or if it meant something.

Surely not?

Hopefully not?

Please not?

Please?

Regardless of if I decided or not, after a few moments I calmed down, feeling Gamer's Mind taking effect as I calmed down considerably. I sighed heavily, and realized that it was just a nightmare, that even after The Game changed my life, I was still a fairly normal person and that my dreams didn't have to have a meaning, they just happened for no reason other than chance.

I realized that I was fine, and when I opened my eyes again, I also noticed that I had another notification.

 **One of your stats has reached 25, you have been awarded equipment corresponding with that stat.**

 **A "Four-Sided Dice Necklace" has been awarded!**

Then, just as it described, a four-sided dice necklace fell into my hand, the green pyramid-like shape gleaming slightly in the sunlight. I decided to give it a quick observe.

 **Four-Sided Dice Necklace**

 **A necklace given to those who have decent Luck. Plus 10% to all exp gains.**

Wow, this is amazing! Pushing away the nightmare completely, I put the necklace on right away, feeling only a slight difference.

Now that little event was over with, I decided to go about my normal morning routine.

 **Honing your mental focus and banishing intrusive thoughts has increased your WIS by 1!**

I sighed as I saw that, and closed it seconds later. Free stats were cool and all, but I didn't like how often these mental ones came up. I'm not some weak-minded fool, alright?!

Soon enough I made my way downstairs. When the aroma of waffles and chicken reached my nose, both I and my stomach realized that I had forgotten to eat dinner yesterday. I put my DEX to the test and nearly raced to the kitchen, seeing mom cooking and lightly bouncing on her feet in a sort of dance.

I waved a hand, clearing my throat so my voice didn't come out hoarse, "Hey Mom, sorry I didn't eat with you guys last night. I was really tired and... kinda forgot. Again, I'm really sorry." I said to her as she turned slightly towards me, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Oh it's fine honey, I could tell that you were exhausted, and decided to just let you sleep. I was a little worried, though, you seemed to be having a bad dream. You were tossing and turning. Is everything alright?" She asked me as she continued to prepare breakfast.

"Yeah, everything's okay mom. It was just a normal sort of bad dream, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary kinds of bad dreams, although I will say that it left me with a pretty bad de-buff." I shrugged, leaving my explanation rather simple as I took my seat at the table.

Soon enough she finished with the food and went up to wake up dad. I couldn't tell if it was funnier to see him get thrown down the stairs yesterday, or having seen that and now seeing him grumbling and walking down the stairs today. It WAS pretty funny to see him whine when mom snatched the blanket off his shoulders, and I decided it didn't matter and just laughed at him, "I guess you learned your lesson, huh?"

"Son, I'm going to need the sword back, I need to make a religious sacrifice to Pillowetia." he said, eyes still closed.

My mother simply gave a little bird-like laugh, "I don't know about any religious significance, but keep up your whining and I might make you eat-ia a pillow." my dad faked a retch.

He sighed as he rubbed his arms, still refusing to open his eyes, "I'd rather eat whatever that is... chicken and waffles?"

Mom smiled, "I won't tell you, you have to open your eyes."

Dad groaned and covered his face, laying his arms on the table and laying his head on them, "Opening your eyes is heresy against Pillowetia."

My mom sighed, then grabbed my dad by the hair and lifted his head up, then (and I couldn't help but look away slightly) planted a big wet smooch over each of his eyes, causing him to let out a brief cry of complaint as he wiped his eyes, forcing them to open. He glared at mom and she just laughed, "By the way, it is chicken and waffles." she walked back over to the stove and got the food, laying it out on the table with a smile.

We all sat down had a nice, peaceful breakfast, we talked about a few things, but finished our meal rather quickly. I decided to help Mom with the dishes, but before I did I decided to use the skill book that I was looking at yesterday. I pulled it out and got a notification.

 **You are able to learn the skill "House Work"** **Would you like to learn it?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

I tapped yes and learned the skill, feeling the knowledge fly into my head. I immediately got another notification.

 **Because you have already headed down the path of a house husband at a young age, your skill "House work" has been set to level 95, as have all sub skills.**

I just stared at the notification for a good ten seconds, eye twitching, before I sighed and went to help Mom with the dishes. I pointedly said nothing as I finished my part of the dishes much faster than she did, and once I finished I went out to the back yard to help Dad repair the fence.

I could see him over by the hole in the fence, carefully removing the broken boards. Already, the hole was turning very square and smooth. I went over to him to give him a hand, "Hey dad. Need a hand?"

He turned his head and smirked at me, "Well son, I'd say yes, but if you give me one and a Beowolf tears off the other, you won't have left for yourself." he chuckled teasingly.

I deadpanned, then grabbed one of the boards, my grip 'accidentally' slipping while moving it, making it hit my dad in the arm, causing him to wince a little and drop his hammer, "Oops, sorry dad, looks like you might need that hand after all." we shared a lighthearted laugh, then got to work.

The repairs went by fairly quickly with both of us working together, and within a few hours it was all finished up, "That's a fine looking fence, son." my dad smiled at it.

I raised an eyebrow, "You did all the laying and nailing, dad."

He chuckled, "And that's why you have seven sisters." then burst out laughing while I went red in the face. His laughter lasted nearly a full minute before he calmed down enough to speak, "But in all honesty, son, we did this together. Hopefully no Grimm decide to crash through it again." he smiled.

I had to admit, the whole thing looked like new, "Heh, yeah, hopefully." I smiled at our handiwork, dusting off my hands.

It was odd, really, how smooth this day was going. I guess it was also odd, and said a lot about me, that I assumed every new day would come with something bad happening. I couldn't tell if it was paranoia or pessimism, but whatever it really was, I decided to just let it go for right now, just let it go and just enjoy the peace.

We went inside for lunch, which went by fairly quickly and uneventfully, with only a small amount of conversation, but I'd caught word that Sammy was currently staying at Aunt Gwynovere's and was doing well with her work, which I was happy for. Given that her main missions were exploration-based, hearing she was safe and sound was always a godsend.

When we were finished, my dad and I came to a quick conclusion: Because we finished the fence so much earlier than we thought we would, we would just start training now, while we had bellies full and energy ready to burn.

My dad told me to go out into the back yard while he fetched something. I stepped out and did a few basic stretches, which I'd found from previous training to give me a small buff **Limbered Up** , which was useful in keeping up with Dad's crazy speed.

The door opened again and I saw him walking towards me with an odd expression on his face, I'd probably pin it as a mix between hope, pride, and anxiety. I noticed he was holding a somewhat thick book about the size of a journal. _'That's odd. I don't think I've ever seen that book before. Did he find a book in his study he thinks could be a skill book?'_ I thought curiously, since the sudden possession of the book was kinda odd. I wonder what skills it held, humming as the thoughts flew through my head. He didn't say a word besides instructing me to follow him. I did, and he led the way to a familiar forest clearing, one we'd used a couple of times when dad didn't want to disturb mom with the sounds of our spars.

Once we got into our normal positions, my dad turned to me with a serious look on his face, like he was contemplating a massive issue. I'd only seen that look on his face once, when he'd heard that Flowey was hospitalized. I hoped that news wasn't what made him so tense now, and the small smile he got as he scanned my body over told me that it wasn't. I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little, "So... what's up with the book, dad?"

He gave a small grunt, shifting it in his hand, "Alright son, let me tell you first that I'm very proud of you. You have learned a good bit of hand to hand combat in just a few days, so I guess that new level of Intelligence is doing something for you!" he gave a small laugh, "But, after this progress, your actual skill seems to have slowed down how much it gains experience and levels up, for some reason. I think I know the reason."

I nodded, "Please tell me, dad. The dumb thing has been crawling along since it hit level 20." it had been leveling up fairly fast, but then again I was getting tons of bonus EXP because I was learning from a master.

"Well son, remember what I told you when you said you didn't want to study things? A dumb warrior is a bad warrior. I think in order for you to improve your skills in unarmed combat, you should learn more, become smarter as a fighter. There's a saying, we use raw materials to make crude tools, and we use the crude tools to make better tools. I have a very good idea for your 'better tool' son, a fighting style that I think will fit you well. I've been considering when to give you this, but I think that now, when it seems like it'll be the most useful, is the perfect time. Here, son, I want you to have this book, and I want you to tell me if your powers will let you learn it." He instructed me while lifting the book up and holding it out towards me.

I took it with a small amount of hesitation, and almost immediately a notification appeared.

 **Skill book "Radiant Hand Style"**

 **A hand-to-hand fighting style created, developed, and mastered by Solaire Astora Arc. He became widely known for this style with many trying to imitate it, but ultimately failing due to unknown reasons. Now, he passes on the knowledge onto his only son, Jaune Leon Arc.**

 **Would you like to learn this skill?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

I stared at the notification and at the cover, which showed the a close-fingered palm of a hand with a glow of light around it. It was... it was incredible. I guess Dad wasn't nearly as much of a goof as he usually appeared to be.

I looked back up to him in shock, and all he did was nod his head at me and smile. I took it as a sign that I should continue, and I did.

With slight hesitance, and a bit of slowness from the lingering awe, I hit the yes button, causing another notification popped up.

 **You do not meet the requirements to learn this skill book.**

 ***UPDATE!***

 **All requirements have been nullified due to this being a family skill passed to you, the heir.**

 **You have learned the skill "Radiant Hand Style"**

 **Due to you learning this from the original copy, as well as a master of the art, the skill** **"Radiant Hand Style" has leveled up to level 15!**

Huh, who would have thought that I could do something like this? Probably my dad, he always seemed to have a lot of faith in me. I decided to pull up the skill and have a look at it.

 **Skill "Radiant Hand Style" Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **A hand-to-hand fighting style created, developed, and mastered by Solaire Astora Arc. He became widely known for this style with many trying to imitate it but** **ultimately failing due to unknown reasons** **. Now, he has passed on the knowledge onto his only son, Jaune Leon Arc.**

 **This skill is the culmination of the entire art style. To level up this skill, you must level up the sub-skills.**

 **Sub-Skills:**

 **"Radiant Hand Pulse" Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your hand with light to deal massive punching damage.**

 **"Radiant Hand Blade"** **Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your hand with light to make your hand a cutting force to deal massive cutting damage.**

 **"Radiant Hand Gauntlet"** **Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your arm with light to make it solid and defensive.**

 **"Radiant Hand Rip"** **Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your hand with light to make your grip strength incredible.**

 **"Radiant Foot Dash"** **Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your legs with light to increase your speed.**

 **"Radiant Foot Stomp"** **Lv. 15 Exp. 00.00%**

 **Through the power of Aura and of your soul you can empower your legs with light to deal massive kicking damage.**

"Whoa! Dad, this... this is amazing! I just... I can't... I... Thank you." I managed to speak through my huge levels of awe at how cool and useful these skills were. The blade certainly explained some of his odder moves. I looked at him graciously, truly thankful for everything he gave me, not just the skill book, but the training thus far, and the support even before then.

He just nodded, smiled, and got into a fighting stance, letting out a small laugh, "Well, son, I can see you learned it, so let's get to work, shall we?"

I nodded, then activated my aura and some of the skills. With my entire body shining like a very small sun, I charged at my father.

The extra light allowed me to clearly see the large smile on his face.

 ** _...A Few Hours Later..._**

 **The Skill "Radiant Hand Style" has leveled up by one.**

 **Due to diligent training your Strength has increased by 1.**

 **Due to diligent training your Dexterity has increased by 2**

 **Due to intense training your Vitality has increased by 1**

Man, those gains weren't very good... actually, thinking about it, for just... three hours? We've been going for three hour? It's felt like six! For just three hour's time, with how high my stats were (especially strength), it was very good work. At least I got _something_ from it.

We were heading to the house for some rest and maybe a snack, but I saw something in the far distance and couldn't help but comment on it, "Hey Dad... what is that in the distance? I think it looks like... smoke?" I asked slightly confused as I could not really make out with it being so far away. Thankfully, Dad had better eyesight, and peered off into the distance.

It wasn't reassuring when he suddenly stopped mid-step, a look of deep worry coming over his face. After another second or two, his features turned to stone, "Jaune... go get your mother and tell her the town is under attack, I'll run ahead, get there as soon as I can." He told me before he basically disappeared from right next of me.

I had instructions, and they were really damn important. I sprinted toward the house, my legs pumping as my breath deepened not from exhaustion, but from growing panic.

I didn't know how long it took me to actually make it back to the house, time had become a mess where a second was a minute, five seconds was an hour, and ten seconds felt like days. The town was under attack... everyone, all those people, hundreds and hundreds of people were in town, and just about all of them were vulnerable. Mom and Dad were the only hunters for at least twenty miles around. Without them, the town would be swallowed whole by fire and Grimm. Those people needed to be saved!

 **Status "Adrenaline Rush" has intensified from [Low] to [Med]!**

After what felt like weeks of running, I flung the front door open once I got to it and shouted into the house. "MOM! MOM QUICK! THE TOWN IS UNDER ATTACK." Suddenly I felt a strong breeze blow by me, followed a second or two later by a plate shattering in the kitchen. I don't know, physics could have broken and a minute passed before the thing hit the floor, I didn't care.

What I cared about was that mom knew and that she was on her way. I sprinted into the house, grabbing the keys to the truck and sprinting to the garage. The door was either open or thrown from its hinges, I couldn't tell, it just hit the wall before I ignored it entirely. A string of curses flew through my head as I saw the garage door was closed, and I grabbed it, yanking it upwards. Maybe I'd damaged the rails, maybe not, I didn't know and my stupid brain needed to stop thinking about that useless shit!

I hopped into the truck and, after a couple of panicked screw-ups, started it, slamming my foot on the gas peddle, hearing the engine roar with power as I peeled out for a moment, then flew out of the garage and on the read that led to town.

I checked the time on the dash, it was half past six. The gas pedal was too busy making out with the floor to complain about how hard I was crushing it down.

When the edge of town was visible, I checked the time again and was shocked. Let's just say that I turned a twenty minute drive into about a five minute drive, and even then it still felt like far too much time was passing.

Once I got closer, the treeline broke away, and I could see the smoke quite clearly. That alone was concerning in it's own right, _'How did the fire start?'_ I slammed on the brakes and nearly lost control of the truck, turning it hard and drifting for a few seconds before something hit the side and I stopped. I practically tore the door off and jumped out of the truck, seeing that I'd hit a young Beowolf and it had bowled over into the back. I jumped up, grabbed it by the neck, flipped it over my head, and threw it to the ground, jumping off the truck and landing with a stomp to its chest, killing its weakened form instantly.

I sprinted the rest of the way into the town proper, where things were happening, and as expected I saw Grimm all over the place.

Still low on AP from training, I pulled out my Claymore to have some reach and avoid losing any more arms. I ran toward the closest Grimm that I saw, a decent level Beowolf, and bisected it with one swing.

I looked down at my sword in surprise and realized that I never observed it to see what kind of damage it dealt.

 **Claymore**

 **An average Claymore, nothing special about it.**

 **Damage: 10*STR.**

 **Durability** **99/100**

"WHAT?" I shouted in shock. How had I not realized just how good it was until now? _'No! This is no time to get distracted!'_ I internally screamed, my heart pounding.

I turned and charged at the next Grimm I could see, which was a large Ursa. I had never fought one before, but with my new sword I felt more confident about my odds. I ran at it and swung with all my strength.

It was a testament either to the strength of an Ursa or to my shaking hands that it raised its arm and completely stopped it, or maybe it was just how tough its bone spikes were, I didn't know, I couldn't tell. It then swung it's arm at me, shattering my aura and sending me flying away, as well as taking away about one fourth of my health. My heart pounded in my chest as I rolled to a stop on the ground.

 **Status "Adrenaline Rush" has intensified from [Med] to [High]!**

After getting over the pain, I stood up slightly shakily and glared at the Ursa. Well, if brute force won't work, then I guess I'll have to use what little speed I have to my advantage.

I quickly ran at the Ursa, dodging to the right as it swung down, hitting the street and getting its paw stuck in the ground. Seeing the opening, I stomped my foot down to balance myself and swung my Claymore upward, severing its arm with a well-placed swing. Focus, I had to focus!

With it's arm severed, it roared in rage, which it really shouldn't have done because I proceeded to cut its head right off.

 **Your level has increased by 2.**

Well that's good. The leveling up had recovered all my bars. Huh, I had never noticed that before. Well, on to the next grim-

 **WARNING! BOSS GRIMM INCOMING!**

As if on cue, I heard a loud howl that sent shivers down my spine. Further down the road, I saw a mangled body spill something out of its gut, right before getting thrown aside by the thing. I gagged as it rolled toward me and I took in what little appearance was still visible, using Observe just to be sure about what I was seeing.

It... it was Ted. The very same Ted I had helped just yesterday... he was dead, mutilated by sharp claws.

I looked up when another howl cut through the air, and saw a very large Beowolf barreling towards me on all fours, and for once I could see its title and name.

 **Alpha Beowolf  
** **Title: Night's Blessed Child**

What, I... I had never had the game tell me the name of an enemy, or show its title before. What did that mean?

I did not get the chance to think about it as the Alpha lunged at me, covering the distance between us in just a second and slamming into me, breaking my aura in one hit.

I flew back, slamming into a brick wall behind me, taking some minor damage from it. I rolled to my right as fast as I could to dodge the follow-up attack. I quickly stood up, wildly swinging my sword as I did. It jumped away, just barely dodging my slashes.

It jumped back a little further, then began circling me. I began circling as well, not wanting to let it get behind me. Suddenly, it lunged at me again, somehow knowing that I couldn't dodge it again. I held my sword in front of me and prayed.

It hit my sword, but it also hit me, bringing me down by a good bit of health, nearly one third of it. I began to worry for a moment, before I cast that emotion aside. Worrying would not help me in this battle, only action would. I couldn't back down, couldn't give up, couldn't stop fighting until this thing was dead!

 **In the face of imminent possible death, status "Adrenaline Rush" has intensified from [High] to [MAX]!**

I let out a howl of my own as I ran toward it again, deciding to be the aggressor this time. I made three quick slices with my sword, but only two hit the Alpha however, with it jumping back and dodging the last swing.

My arms burned with exertion as I went to swing at him again, but he stopped me with a quick slash across my chest, following it up with another that threw me backwards. I crashed into a small market shop that had been destroyed. I stood up and hobbled out, watching it stare at me. Something, probably broken glass, was lodged into my back. I shook, making one last charge at it.

It sniffled and just slammed its fist down at me, sending me on a short trip downwards, with me laying on my back staring up at it.

I tried to move, but suddenly I realized that I couldn't. I tried to get up again, but my whole body was going. I failed one last time, then I looked at my health.

My heart stopped... literally.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Grimm Slayer  
**

 **Health points: 0/1150**

 **Status "Adrenaline Rush" has been disabled!**

The Grimm howled in victory, probably smelling my death, or just seeing that I couldn't move an inch, All of a sudden, all sorts of Grimm started to come out of the wood work, circling around me and surrounding me on all sides.

Then, I remembered the dream that I had this morning, _'No meaning my ass... the one time I brush it off, I die... that's a really unfair punishment!'_

I started to struggle even more, _'Final breath? Last stand? Come on, even some kind of revenge move?... please?'_ my internal voice went meek as I realized what was about to happen. Even with every fiber of my being that I could control struggling, _screaming_ to move my body, I remained completely motionless.

I tried calling for help, but I couldn't even speak. Finally, I did the only thing I could do at this point... I prayed.

 _'Well, if there is anything out there that can help me, to save me, then please! Please come! I need your help right now! Just... I dunno how! Please! Just let me Live!'_ I begged and pleaded with whatever it was that could help me.

But nothing happened, I just laid there and watched as the Alpha Beowolf lumbered toward me, _'Please! Just let me live...'_

Again, nothing happened. It was then that I knew that nothing could save me, I knew it from my cold, numb skin, down to the deep insides of my bones. So, as the Beowolf came closer, I closed my eyes and accepted my fate, _'Just let me live...'_

I heard a small tick, and my finger twitched. A spark of hope lit up in my chest, _'Just let me live!'_

I could count the seconds _'Just let me live!'_ that passed by as my mind _'Just let me live!'_ burned with exertion. My body barely moved, _'Just let me live!'_ not even a percent of a percent of any significant movement, but I still tried _'Just let me live!'_. I could hear it get closer, and it stopped right in front of me. I then heard what I assumed was it raising its arm high to strike me down.

 _'JUST LET ME LIIIIVE!'_

Right before my final moment passed... "JAAAAAAUUUUNE!" I heard my father scream in despair, and my eyes flew open. Vision returned to me only a split-second before the fist of the Beowolf hit me.

I could feel my skull shatter, and I knew no more.

* * *

 _ **Solaire's POV**_

I had just rounded the corner, looking for any more survivors that might still be in the village after the evacuation. I had been working my ass off to get them to safety, beating and cutting down any Grimm that stood in my way. I rounded another corner, mind screaming out orders.

That was when I saw it, the moment that would haunt my dreams for so many nights to come.

I saw Jaune, my son, my dear, only son, laying on his back, surrounded by Grimm. I saw that his eyes were closed, even as an Alpha Beowolf slowly walked toward him. It raised up its arm, and I started to run toward it to stop it.

"JAAAAAAUUUUNE!" I screamed in despair, trying to draw attention toward me to distract the Grimm, to save my son, to do ANYTHING!

It didn't work.

Jaune's eyes flew open, only to see the Alpha bring down its fist, crushing and shattering his head... Jaune's head... my son's head was in pieces...

Seeing it, but unable to process it, I fell to my knees. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it! _'How... HOW? How could this happen?'_ I didn't understand... my son? My only son... gone? I was overwhelmed by grief and sadness, I felt my aura clinging to my skin, warm and uncomfortable, flared up from my emotions, but flickering and sparking, as if the very light inside me was threatening to die.

And then, that's when everything exploded. From the Alpha Beowolf, an explosion of darkness emanated from it, consuming the nearby Grimm, which only seemed to add fuel to the dark 'flame'. Streaks of gold flew through the air as well, rising up and swirling around it as the thick, inky blackness covered it completely from view.

As quickly as the mysterious darkness came, it left in a great burst, but in it's place was a Beowolf like I had never seen before.

It was large, easily twenty or more feet tall, towering over the nearby buildings like a titan of evil, completely covered in almost knight-like bone armor, red markings painted across the plates, along with a few streaks of gold. It glared with hatred at the town around it with the deepest red eyes that I had ever seen in a Grimm.

Then, it howled again, the sound deep and guttural, as if it was vomiting thunder while a few small bursts of golden light popped around its body. Pools of inky darkness formed around it, and clawing their way out of the pools, as if climbing out of the depths of hell, were more Alpha Beowolves, though these were normal ones.

Then, I began to realize what had happened. This Beowolf, this beast, this _monster_ , this _damn dirty_ ** _BASTARD_** had somehow stolen part of my boy's power, and was now using it for himself.

Well, I was NOT going to let that slide!

Sorrow turned into fury, anguish converted into anger, despair was transformed into bloodlust. I let out a roar as I jumped to my feet, finally catching the thing's attention with my sounds and emotions.

The area around me actually began to heat up with my anger... then suddenly, I remembered something that I had forgotten for quite some time.

"Haha." I chuckled softly as I spoke to them, my voice strong and filled with calm, collected wrath, "You know... when I was young, my dear mother, bless her heart, she called me her little Sun. She said that I was a little Sun that would shine light on people's lives..." I swallowed hard, my breath coming out in harsh pants, "That... that was before she was killed by Grimm... BUT! BUUUT~! But, but, but... I took her words to heart. I took them to heart and I held them close to me for many years. I wanted to be the Sun, I wanted to cast away the darkness that haunts this world." I said as the air grew hotter and hotter, my breath nearly turning to fire in my mouth, "When I went to Beacon, people laughed at me, I wasn't the best fighter, didn't even have a cool semblance to help me in battle, didn't even have a semblance at all! But... I showed them, I studied battle, and I got stronger, and I found a way to win, every single time, even without a semblance to back me up." I clenched my fist, seeing my muscles glow under my skin, "I became stronger so that I could use my strength to protect the weak, to protect the innocent, to protect the ones I love!"

The Beowolves howled, but I roared back like a mighty dragon, silencing them and putting them on edge.

"And... wouldn't you know it? I think... I think that I just managed to find a way to get even stronger. Find a way to follow my dream, the dream I adopted from my dear mother..." my eyes were cast down for a moment, then I looked at them with hatred. Pure, directionalized, real and visceral _hatred,_ "You see... I never really understood why those where her last words." The Grimm's instincts to consume the darkness in my heart had overridden their wisdom in knowing that attacking me was a bad idea. As such, they all began to charge at me, with the Behemoth Beowolf leading the pack. "Her last words to me were..." I said as the Behemoth lunged at me. I had feared it for several moments when I saw it explode with power...

But now? Now it was my turn to explode, and that was just what I did. As the Beowolf was almost upon me, I finished what I had to say. "...Praise the Sun!" And with those words, I exploded in a flash of light and flames that turned night into day, engulfing the entire town in its blistering radiance.

The Grimm never stood a chance, howling in pain as they were thrown back and incinerated almost instantly.

After I finished radiating my flames and light, I fell to my knees in the crater that I created, all of my previous rage falling from my suddenly weak mental grasp, leaving me once again with sorrow and anguish. I wept over the loss of my son, wept like a bawling baby over the loss of the young man who had been my pride and joy. Soon, I felt familiar arms wrap around me, and comforting words coming into my deaf, pounding ears as I stared at the small crystal in my hands, words appearing above it.

 _ **Desecrated Gamer Soul Crystal  
**_

 _ **A crystal containing the essence of the Gamer's life, which was absorbed by a Grimm. It may be burned to fuel the flames within.**_

 _ **As a part of The Gamer's family, you are allowed to identify this item.**_

It was almost mocking me, holding my son's soul in my hand and being reminded of my failure every time my eyes ran over those damning words. Yet, despite the agony it drilled into my heart, I held it tight and didn't let go.

My head was empty of everything but the whole spectrum of sadness, and all I could think and say was, "I couldn't save him." I repeated those four damned words over, and over, and over, until I passed out from the exertion of all the aura I had used, as well as the emotional trauma of the night.

I laid there on the street, the stone-cold cobbles feeling like lava compared to the ice that was gripping my heart.

* * *

 _ **Stone: And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a chapter that took a VERY long time to write, and I must say I am pretty happy with how it went.**_

 _ **Stone: Oh and by the way this is not the last chapter, like at all there is still a lot more to do, in fact this scene has been one of the big premises of the story. anyhow that is all for me.**_

 _ **Stone out**_

 _ **Player1 in!**_

 _ **Player1: Thank you all for reading. As stone said, this is not the last chapter, trust me, it's not. The last chapter is far, far away, this chapter in fact is just the beginning of the rest of the story! From the ashes, a new fire will be stoked, and poor Solaire will find redemption, but will he find peace?**_ ** _Stay tuned to find out next time!_**

 ** _Until then, remember to leave a favorite, follow, and leave a review. Stone isn't the best writer, and needs some help. Constructive criticism is appreciated._**

 ** _AND REMEMBER! THE STORY IS NOT DEAD! I WOULDN'T LET STONE END THE STORY! Not until Gotham is in ashes will this story be allowed to die._**

 ** _That's all for right now now, though._**

 ** _Player1 out!_**


	7. The First Day of the Rest of your Life

**Stone: Wow not even an hour and people are kinda upset. But then again I expected this that is why we told you to wait for this chapter. Well you asked for the next chapter so here it is.**

 **Player1: Actually I'm pretty sure we said that Jaune would be returning, maybe... anyways, let's get to the part where Jaune returns, so y'all can calm down and realize that we're pretty clever.**

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

All I could see, no, all I could _perceive_ , was nothing. I was in an endless void of nothing, hardly even able to reflect on my decisions.

It had been like this for awhile, a haze laid over my mind, unfair as this period of a lack of any senses meant that I could have thought over my choices in life, if my mind had been clear.

As for how long I'd been here, I'd tried keeping track of the seconds, but lost count somewhere in the two hundreds. Exactly how long I'd been trapped here, though, who could tell?

Me? Nope.

My dad? Not here.

God? If one answered me.

I pondered that thought. Every now and again, what, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, more? Every so often, I called out a prayer once more, _'Just let me live. Please, just let this be a bad dream. Please let me wake up.'_

I wasn't sure if only an hour passed, two, three, a day, a week, a month, I wasn't sure at all, really, but...

...finally... something changed, and my head became clear, a light visible far away in the blackness.

 **Through profound prayer and desperation, you have unlocked a new stat. "Faith" has been unlocked.**

 **Through continuous prayer, your prayers have been answered.**

Then, all of a sudden, a notification appeared in front of me. It was different from the rest, green as opposed to blue, with golden letters instead of white. As I read it, I came to understand that if I could have still felt my heart, then I'm sure it would have stopped, then soared.

 **3 Lives Remaining. Would You Like to Re-spawn?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

What? I can go back? I... I can see my family again? After all this time, one thought had pierced through the haze, the thought that I had left my family behind, that I would do anything to go back to them.

That 'anything' was now right in front of me, in the form of a little green box. Without hands to press the button, a brief moment of dread set in, before my thoughts screamed out, ' _Yes! Yes! Please, yes! I want to respawn! I want to go back! Please! Yes! Yes, YES, YEEESSS!'_

The tiny, distantly shining point then exploded outwards, and the world of darkness I had found myself in was suddenly engulfed in light.

 _ **...(unknown time passes)...**_

I opened my eyes, blinded by the light of the sun, then squinted them shut, opening them just a tad, seeing leaves lightly rustling above me. I was...!

Suddenly, a ton of notifications popped up in front of me.

 **You have completed the tutorial!**

 **You have left the beginning town! Some things that were locked before can now be accessed.**

 **One of your stats has reached 75 or higher and a piece of equipment has been added to your inventory!  
You gained 1 "Enchanted Ebony War Hammer"**

 **You took part in a major boss battle. You have leveled up 12 times!**

 **The stat "Faith" has been unlocked!**

 **An unknown entity has changed the game to answer your prayer.**

 **GAME UPDATE!**

 **THE LIVES SYSTEM HAS BEEN ADDED!**

 **THE FAITH STAT HAS BEEN ADDED!**

 **THE REVENGE SYSTEM HAS BEEN ADDED!**

 **THE COMPANION SYSTEM HAS BEEN ADDED!**

 **NOTIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN REVISED!**

 **SMALL TWEAKS TO THE GAME HAVE HAPPENED**

My mouth fell open in amazement at everything that had happened. I had died, and then come back to life due to some random entity... and... and... Wow, a lot really _had_ happened. I guess I should take a look at my stats, see what's happened there.

 **Health: 1150/1150  
** **Aura: 200/200  
** **Stamina: 575/575**

 **Strength: 76  
** **Dexterity: 30  
** **Vitality: 33  
** **Intelligence: 20  
** **Wisdom: 21  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Faith: 10**

 **Stat Points: 70**

WHAT? I have so many stat points! I mean, just, _wow_. I should spend them.

Let's see~... well, I mean it _IS_ the stat that saved my life, so I dumped 40 points into Faith. Satisfied with that, I then decided to put 5 points into Intelligence, and 4 into Wisdom, to help me follow my dad's advice and be a smart warrior. Speaking of being a warrior, I put 7 points into Vitality, 4 into Strength, and 5 into Dexterity to help me out there. I needed more HP if I was going to be getting into fights like THAT one again anytime soon, yeesh.

Actually, speaking of fights like that, I put the last 5 points into Luck, to help hopefully reduce the likelihood of that happening.

With everything done, I checked my profile now that everything had gone in.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Level: 20  
** **Title: Novice Grimm slayer**

 **Health: 1850/1850  
** **Aura: 1000** **/1000  
** **Stamina: 925/925**

 **Strength: 80  
** **Dexterity: 35  
** **Vitality: 40  
** **Intelligence: 25  
** **Wisdom: 25  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Faith: 50**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Height: 6'1"  
** **Weight: 245**

I felt my body change rather suddenly, shifting as I grew taller and more muscular. I could also feel something else that I couldn't quite tell what it was, except that it was all around me. I couldn't identify it at all, really, but I got the sense whatever it was, it was a good thing.

Then, right as I was finished adjusting, even more notifications appeared in front of me. Man, they didn't seem to want to stop today.

 **You have raised your INT to 25 or higher. A piece of equipment has been added to your inventory. You gained 1 "Sorcerer's Staff".**

 **You have raised your WIS to 25 or higher. A piece of equipment has been added to your inventory. You gained 1 "Wizard's Ring".**

 **You have raised your FTH to 25 or higher. A piece of equipment has been added to your inventory. You gained 1 "Priest's Chime".**

 **You have raised your FTH to 50 or higher. A skill has been awarded! You gained the skill "Heal".**

 **You have raised all stats to 25 or higher! A piece of equipment has been given to to commemorate this occasion. You gained 1 "Hero's Mark".**

"Wow." I said aloud. I mean... really, this was a lot, and all at one time as well!

 _'I'm not sure how to handle all this. But first things first, I need to get home!'_ I looked around to see if I recognized anything, but the trees here looked completely different to the ones at home. Does that mean I was in a different forest entirely?

Not sure what to do, I turned on the mini-map. I was kinda sad that I didn't have a skull to smash into it, but alas, I had to deal with the hand I was given... _'That was poor humor, then again I'm pretty sure I'm just trying to joke to cope with the situation at hand.'_

 **Reflecting on your actions and learning from them has increased your WIS by 1!**

I ignored the notification, sighing as I looked at the mini map, confirming my suspicion.

I had absolutely no clue where I was.

But... the mini map DID tell me _one_ thing that was useful, and couldn't be gathered from just taking three seconds to look around, and that was that enemies were approaching. I could see several red dots coming toward me at a fast pace, but I had a bit of time to prepare.

No more being arrogant, arrogance got me killed, as did mindless bravery. If I was going to be brave, I had best be strong too. If I couldn't be strong, then I was going to deck myself out with gear that helped to close the gap.

As such, not knowing what I'd be facing, I equipped my Iron Breastplate, my leather traveling boots, and my iron-plated Cestus. My dad might have gotten by with no armor, but he was crazy-fast and could dodge whatever attacks were thrown at him. I didn't have that luxury... actually, crap, why didn't I boost my DEX more? I didn't REALLY need those four points in STR, if I was being honest...

 _'No time to ponder!'_ I equipped my Wizard's Ring underneath the Cestus, as well as equipping the Hero's Mark on my belt. I didn't really care what they did, only that they did something useful. Finally, I pulled out my Claymore... or didn't, because it wasn't in my inventory anymore, _'Crap, I had it in my hands with my other, now-dead body!'_ the only other weapon I had was the new Enchanted Ebony War Hammer. Unfortunately, the game wouldn't let me use both the War Hammer and the Cestus, since while they were gauntlets, they still counted as weapons more than armor, so I made do with the Hammer.

I could hear the enemies coming now, their footfalls heavy on the ground, and suddenly about fifteen Beowolves were all around me, bursting out of the brush and snarling at me.

I smirked, looking at them without fear. I swore to not be arrogant, and I wasn't going to be, but I knew very well that I was stronger than them now. They all charged at me with intent to kill, and when the closest ones got near, they lunged at me.

You know, the real problem with being in the air during an attack is that it's always too late to change your mind. I learned that the first time my dad swatted me aside like a fly when I tried to do a flying tackle... okay, the fourth time. I swore I would have been able to pull it off if I'd been fast enough.

Anyways, FOCUS! They got even closer, and I smiled and quickly spun in a full circle with my hammer out, and killed all five of them in one swing, the hammer sailing through their heads like a sword through balloons, except they burst into smoke instead of loud noise.

The rest of the pack seemed slightly hesitant now that I had killed one half- no wait, one _third_ of their ranks. Fractions were beside the point right now, I still had things to kill. I looked towards the rest of them and charged at them.

Seeing me coming, they tried to jump out of the way, but my war hammer had quite the reach, and it wiped them out with ease. I took the head off of one of them, just barely missing another that got a glancing blow on the arm. One got behind me and lunged at my back, but its claws bounced off of the back of my breastplate. I turned around and grabbed its head, my hand glowing a bright yellow with the power of the Radiant Hand Rip, and I crushed its head in my grip.

 _'Y'know, maybe you aren't really all that smart, dad. I could have seriously used armor when I was fighting Grimm back in the... the tutorial... man that's kinda weird now that I think about it.'_ During my moment of thought, the remaining Beowolves had regrouped.

I turned towards them all and put away my hammer. Once I was unarmed, my entire body began to glow golden as I charged toward the now loosely clustered pack much faster than they could compensate for. I was able to quickly get up next to one of them before it could try to attack. With just a few swipes, I severed both of its arms, then its head with my hand-blades.

 _'Okay dad, I take it back, you're a genius! Unarmed combat's never been THIS easy before.'_ I looked to my left and saw three coming towards me, and I ran to meet them. Avoiding the mistake of jumping with my attack like they had done, I instead did a couple of little hops and delivered a double kick to the one in the middle, followed by punching the last two with the remains of my body's forward momentum, delivering three swift punches that broke one's neck and killed the other with blunt force trauma.

 **Pushing your attacking speed to the limits has created the skill "Triple Strike"!**

There were four left, and they all charged at me as one. Too bad it didn't do them any good, because as they got close, I just stood there, but once they were in arm's reach I stepped towards them, dodging as I punched my hand through the chest of the one on the far right and reaching to the one to its side. I grabbed that one's head and pulled it through the hole I made in the first one's chest, kicking that Beowolf in its ass and sending it stumbling away.

I spun towards the other two, right as they lunged at me. They only did a bit of damage thanks to my breastplate, and were bounced back from there own attacks as a bonus! I grabbed both of them by the heads and smashed them together with my incredible strength, killing them both.

I turned back to the other, struggling Beowolf, which I didn't know if it was for comedic purposes or not, but the other Beowolf hadn't burst into smoke like usual, and so the other struggling one was wearing it like a collar. It had just managed to turn back towards me, which I countered with a kick to its head, ending the fight as the other one burst into smoke as well.

I sighed as I saw the notifications that told me what I got from my fight, and just ignored them. I had bigger things to think about, like how I would get home! I sighed and picked a random direction to walk in, then began my trek towards... hopefully civilization.

I took some time to think out loud, "I may be strong enough to take care of these Beowolves no problem, but the bigger Grimm are still going to need some effort." I muttered to myself as I sighed again, mind flashing back to the Alpha Beowolf for a brief moment. My body seized for a split-second, but I pushed the thoughts away and continued on my trail.

"Well... I guess this is a good step towards becoming so overwhelmingly strong that no one can hurt me or my family. I don't wanna die willy-nilly though, so I need to focus and learn as fast and train as hard as I can! I guess... right now is as good a time as any." I looked around, briefly, checking the map and seeing a couple of red dots in the distance. "It's training time!" I said to pump myself up as I began running in the direction that I had chosen.

Let's just hope things don't go as badly as the _last_ time I was stuck out in the woods.

* * *

 **Stone: You know what supersizes me the most? It's how many of you thought that I had killed Jaune for good, I mean there is no one saying that it could not happen later on, but this early? Come on! But this is the way things will go, people will die, this is not a nice story with rainbows and sunshine. Sure there will be some happy moments and fun stuff, and they may even happen a lot. But things can and will go wrong, and just because Jaune can re-spawn does not mean he can just die all willy nilly, there are some harsh consequences.**

 **Anyhow that is all from me, Stone out.**

 **Player1 in!**

 **Player1: As I said in the beginning, let's all calm down and realize that Jaune isn't dead, nor will he be dying again anytime soon. The crystal shown in the last chapter will be explained when he meets back up with his family. Alright? Alright. Enjoy the rest of the story, people! This is just the beginning.**

 **Player1 out!**


	8. Two Heroes are Better than One

**Stonecold: Well uhhh, I'm back maybe that is if you even see this, I know that it has been a very long time since I last uploaded a chapter but hey here I am so I guess. Let's do this.**

 **Player1: I'm back too! Been working on my own stuff slowly, took a long break, but I'm back into the writing game, and I'm gonna start by helping my buddy here with the chapter. Let's get started!**

* * *

You know, just walking in a random direction until you find something is not as easy as one might think. You see, in a forest, you're going to eventually run into a tree, which you'll have to go around. You not only have to go around it but keep on the exact same trajectory you were on before, or else you'll end up off-target, and in a forest where everything in the distance was concealed by all these thick trees and dense foliage, that would get me REALLY lost. As it stood, without my mini-map I probably would have walked in a circle about twenty times, or just plain gotten completely lost.

One thing was for sure, and that was that the forest was chock _full_ of surprises. Sometimes you get the unpleasant surprise I got before, with the fifteen Beowolves... but sometimes? Sometimes you get lucky and happen upon a wandering Lumberjack.

I noticed him before he noticed me, and called out to him, "Hey! Um, do you know where the nearest village is, by any chance? I'm a little lost." I asked him. He looked up from his work surprised and confused. I took a moment to really look at him as he was talking. He was a very well built man in a thick flannel shirt and tough blue jeans that looked well worn, like he had had them for a long time and refused to give them up because they still worked... or maybe he liked the look, I wasn't entirely sure. He also had a fairly large ax propped on his shoulder. All in all he looked like an average Lumberjack, but then again I knew that looks could be deceiving. He shifted his weight slightly as he thought, and for some reason, my dad's bare-bones lesson on posture whispered through my mind. I took in his stance, seeing that he was relaxed, and his grip on his ax looked far too loose for him to grab it and swing it at me before I could react. He either wasn't a warrior, wasn't a _good_ warrior, or just didn't see the need for tension.

I zeroed back in on his face when he spoke, "Uh, no? Not really. There are no villages really near here... wait a second, how did you get here? If you were from a village then you should know its name." He asked, getting a little suspicious. He had a very valid question, one that I did not really have an answer too. However I was spared by the screen that popped up in front of me.

 **Congratulations!** **You have encountered one of your companions for your journey! He will now be inducted into the Game!**

'Wait. What?' I thought as the man in front of me collapsed on the ground immediately, his axe falling from his shoulder. I just kinda stared at him in shock, not really sure how to feel about what just happened. I guess I should do something about that.

I slowly walked over to him and checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief as I found it still beating as strong as it should be.

"Well I guess I'll try and get you home." I said as I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder. My strength was useful for this too, thankfully. It only took a few paces before I saw a recognizable path through the dirt. It didn't look like the dirt roads back home, further cementing the idea that I had no clue where I was. I long look up and down the path while also looking at the mini-map to see if I could see any enemies or structures. Nothing within range, so I couldn't go for that. I sighed and picked a direction. Worst case scenario I'd picked the wrong one and would have to double back.

About thirty or so minutes of walking and slowly being gnawed on by a mix of worry and irritation, I came upon a small cottage sort of building that looked quite cozy, set at the back of a small clearing dotted with a couple of stumps. I couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief. Carrying this guy wasn't much of a strain at first, but thirty minutes was starting to pile up a bit. I approached the house with slight amount of caution, however. After all, I did not want to be Goldie-locks going into the bears' house.

I knocked on the door and waited a minute, then knocked again, this time more insistently. I repeated this a couple of times until I determined that there had been more than enough noise and time for someone to get woken up by the noise and come to the door. I decided to try and open the door and found it unlocked, so I opened it all the way and stepped inside.

It was a small home nothing to extravagant, but it was a sturdily built wood cabin with a rather large wood pile over in one corner of the main room and three doors leading away from it. I sat the man down on the couch to recover and decided to observe him.

 **Hei Xiong  
** **Title: Woodsman  
** **Level: 16**

 **Health: 3,175/3,175  
** **Aura: 350/350  
** **Stamina: 1588/1588**

 **Strength: 75  
** **Dexterity** **: 23  
** **Vitality: 49  
** **Intelligence: 13  
** **Wisdom: 26  
** **Luck: 30**

Well... that was something I was not expecting. This dude was ripped underneath his flannel shirt and was apparently very healthy and tough as well. But the thing that I don't understand is that the game said that he was going to be one of my party members. You see, I had already tried to form a party with my Dad while training, but nothing ever happened when we tried. I just figured that the game that was my life would only work for me, but now I'd say maybe not.

I decided to test it out, "Party." I said to no one but myself and an unconscious man, then like every other screen before, a party menu appeared where one had not existed before.

 **Party Menu**

 **Current Party members:**

 **Hei Xiong The Woodsman**

 **XXX**

 **XXX**

 **Companion animal:**

 **None**

Huh, THAT is definitely new. I've never seen this anything like this before. This must be part of the update that happened after my death... huh that is weird to think about. I'd pushed the thought away with the beowolf fight, but now it was coming back up.

"Uuuugh~..." I heard from the couch, and I turned that way to see Hei getting up slowly. Good, another distraction. He stood up and looked around, then froze when he saw me. He made to speak, but was then distracted as a blue screen appeared in front of him.

"What is this?! What did you do to me?" He asked with a rather harsh tone, although I couldn't blame him too much. If I was in his position, I would probably be concerned as well.

Unfortunately, I did not really have a good answer for him, so I just told the truth, "Well, to be perfectly honest with you... I'm not too sure myself. What does that screen in front of you say?" I asked him, hoping that the window would give some insight into the situation.

* * *

 **Hei Xiong's POV**

I dunno what this kid's game is, but what ever drugs he gave me must have been pretty powerful stuff. Then, the kid goes and asks what the screen says. Who does he take me for, eh? Wait... how could the kid see the screen if it was my hallucination? That doesn't make any sense at all! I decided to take a good look at the screen, reading each word curiously and cautiously.

 **Hello Hei Xiong and welcome to the game you have been introduced into the game with that comes certain perks that only you can receive now it is time to chose your class.**

 **Tank**

 **Rogue**

 **Mage**

 **Please choose one class to begin.**

What the heck is this? I... I don't understand what this means. I look up at the kid, who seemed to be waiting patiently for an answer to his question while staring at the blue screen hallucination. It had to be a hallucination, right? But... if he could see it, then that would mean it is real. Only one real way to find out...

"Hey kid, come and read what's on this screen out loud. I want to be sure you're not screwing with me!" I said firmly, trying to gain control of the conversation. He then walked over slowly as to try and not startle me, but it is kind of hard not to be slightly intimidated by a six-foot muscle-bound teenager in armor with a warhammer on his back. Sure, I had a good few inches of height on him, but he looked like a trained warrior, and that was just his appearance. There was also the odd... _weight_ of his presence. I had heard about some people having a heavy or loud or commanding presence, but I never understood it until now. He got a tad too close and I scooted away from him a bit. He then looked at the screen and read, word for word, what I was seeing on it.

That meant that this was real, and that this was really happening right now. I can't handle this! However, as soon as I started to feel panic begin to take over, I felt a wave of calm wash over me and I could feel my mind begin to clear as I thought about it more.

Perhaps I should go ahead and choose one of these class things? I mean, I remember playing games kinda like this as a kid myself, and I was always the best at taking hits like a tank, so maybe I can be that? I thought about it for a few more seconds, then pushed the button that said **Tank.** There was a blue flash of light and energy, and suddenly I felt... different. It felt hot, and good, all at the same, but not in an adult way! It felt more like relieving the sweaty gross feeling of a fever by taking a hot bath. Suddenly, my self-justifying thoughts were interrupted by the kid talking.

"Well I guess that you are now a part of my semblance. I guess I'm still not really too sure how it does... anything, actually. Honestly, I want to keep moving and try to forget about all of this, but after the day the both of us have had, I think we need a drink." he said, and I couldn't agree more. I had nearly hurt my leg by a swing gone bad, but thankfully didn't. I was a fair distance away from any villages, so help would be slow to acquire. I happened to have a bottle of cheap, but strong stuff sold by a near-ish farmer, and I poured us a couple of glasses with ice from the fridge. It wasn't an icebox like people in bigger towns could have had, those things ran off independent dust units, and I honestly hardly made enough from wood sales to keep dust in my electric generator.

I paused mid-pour and hummed, curious about my own sudden self-reflection, then pushed it away and made sure I didn't overfill the glasses and spill this stuff. I finishing the drinks, neat on the rocks I'd learned it was called. The glasses were way too big for whiskey, but we weren't paying for it, nor chugging it, so I honestly didn't care. We sat and drank and talked about ourselves. The kid was surprisingly easy to talk to, almost like one of those holy-men in the smaller villages. He just seemed so... trustworthy, and I found myself telling him about my dream to run my own bar in the city. Those holy-men got to travel around, see so many faces and hear so many stories and touch so many lives. I wanted some of _that_ life, a life where I could just sit and listen to peoples' stories for hours. Unfortunately, I neither had much of a story myself, nor was I exactly religious material. I couldn't be a holy-man myself, but honestly I kinda didn't want to. I was more of a listener than a speaker, and that's exactly why I decided to go for a job where I could listen to a hundred, even a thousand stories and not be expected to give even a single word of reply.

The kid seemed moved by my words, and I noticed a window pop up out of nowhere telling me that contemplating my goals and sharing my story had increased my INT and CHA respectively. The kid sighed when he saw that, and I closed the window with a finger. It was clear that I didn't feel like saying anything else, so the kid opened up about his own story. He told me his name, Jaune Arc. Sounded Valean, so he was a long way from home. He told me about his family, and how he wanted to become a hero. I laughed at that a little.

"Why settle for a hero kid? I mean Heroes always get remembered, but Legends? They never die." I said as I finished off my glass. I had a pretty high tolerance, and this stuff wasn't the strongest ever, so even a sizable glass like mine didn't impair me much at all. By the time I'd get out to my spot again, I'd be sober once more. I stood and put it in my small sink, then grabbed my ax and made my way to the door. After all, I still had a job to do, even with blue windows and blonde heroes popping up in my life.

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

You know it was always the little things that people said that could have the biggest impacts. The very simple words from a simple man that changed the way that I thought about what it was that I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I slowly looked at my hand thinking about it.

"A legend huh that seems like something to strive for." I said to myself. Suddenly a window popped up in front of me.

 **Legendary quest received**

 **Quest "The Legend That Never Ends" Was Added to Quest Log**

 **Description: After realizing that being a hero might not be everything that you may have wanted you strive for new and even more amazing heights. You now are on the road to becoming a legend. This path will not be an easy one however it is a path available to you now.**

 **Objective: Have 95% of the population know you and think well of you.**

 **Reward: Level Increases by 200, all stats increase by 200, Become a legend.**

 **Side objectives:**

 **-The Man who Crushed A Mountain With His Hands: Crush A Mountain With Your Bare Hands. Strength increases by 100.**

 **-Around The World In One Day: Run Around The World In One Day. Dexterity Increases by 100.**

 **-Death Came And I Turned Him Away: Survive Taking 1,000,000 Damage From One Attack. Vitality Increases By 100.**

 **-For Every Question There Is An Answer, And I Have Answers: Find the Answer to three Important Questions. Intelligence Increases by 100.**

 **-You Got To Know When To Hold Them, When To Fold Them, When To Walk Away, and When To Run: Respond correctly many times when presented with a situations where you should either Persist through it, Give up, Not get involved in the first place, or Escape. Wisdom Increases By 100.**

 **You Lucky Son Of A *****: Win The Lottery. Luck Increases By 100.**

 **-Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak no evil: Commit No Evil Acts. Faith Increases by 100.**

What. The. Heck. I... I never even thought that something like this could even exist I, Well I guess everyone needs goals. This seems like a good one for me I guess. Well I better get to it then.

I go out the door to find Hei and give him a hand with his work as well as hopefully get even more strength.

After all I had a mountain to crush.

* * *

 **Player1: Aaaaand that'll do it, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for reading! You're probably wondering about that Legend quest... honestly, we aren't sure if we'll have it be completed within the span of the story. Maybe one or two of the things will be accomplished. Who knows? The most likely ones to be accomplished would be the DEX and VIT ones, I'd personally say.**

 **Stone: Well I must say I am rather pleased with how this turned out, I am excited to see if there is any interest left in this story after so long so I guess we'll find out together shall we? Also I totally think that the STR side quest is possible but hey we will see one day... Maybe.**


End file.
